


Life is Mass

by Lthanz



Category: Fringe (TV), Life Is Strange (Video Game), Mass Effect Trilogy, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types
Genre: Canon Divergence - Star Wars Expanded Universe, Crossover, Fantasy, Fluff and Angst, Force Bond (Star Wars), Inspired by Life Is Strange, Love Triangles, Multi, Multiple Crossovers, Parent-Child Relationship, Post-Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Rewind Powers (Life Is Strange), Science Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Space Battles, Time Travel, War, post-life is strange, pricefield
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-11
Updated: 2018-09-10
Packaged: 2019-05-21 01:21:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 31,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14905796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lthanz/pseuds/Lthanz
Summary: It has been two years since the 'Battle for Earth' and the Earth has entered into a new age of prosperity. Now part of the broader galactic community, the Earth and its people strive for greatness and recognition. A new threat rises while Max, Chloe and Kevin scramble to deal with problems much closer to home and ghosts of the past.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story is the third entry of a series. Part I (Life is Fringe) and part II (Life is War) are posted for your reading pleasure, enjoy!

** Prologue **

 

There was nothing more nightmarish in existence, no sound more terrible, no experience more grating, than the sound of a crying baby. Thankfully, the nightmare had passed. Kevin, sweating somewhat from the horrifying experience, was now awake. Safe. His room was shrouded in darkness, the night was still young. Shivering, he somehow felt cold, despite Kate’s warmth directly beside him.

_Why the hell would I dream about a crying baby?_

Groggy and confused, he rolled over, snuggling up to Kate as close as he could. Jealous of her warmth, he pressed his naked body up against hers, wrapping his arms around her. She stirred, pressing her body closer to his. The desire to kiss the back of her neck became so overwhelming that he gave into it, sending a second tremor through his love.

Moaning softly, she struggled to roll over to face him. _Shit… I woke her up… at least she doesn’t seem too upset about it._ As his thoughts cursed him, Kate blessed him with a fumbled yet passionate kiss. His hands began to explore her nakedness.

Suddenly everything seemed wrong.

The kiss, her body, her scent, the bed, nothing was right. Kevin’s eyes shot open as he came to realize the horror of the situation. The crying started once more.

Echoing from down the hall the infant’s wail pierced through him like a hot spear. Meanwhile, his mind was being ravaged by the confounding situation that had suddenly developed in the bedroom.

“Kevin…?” _No. What the fuck? What the hell? This can’t be happening? What? What happened?_

“Max?” His question was entirely unnecessary, but his mind hadn’t provided him with any further words. It was Max. He recognized her frail form despite the darkness. Her voice was unmistakable, her confusion mirroring his own. Just as he was beginning to get a grip on the storm developing within his mind, she switched on the light.

Gasping in shock, she snatched up the covers in a desperate attempt to cover herself. Unfortunately for both of them, he had been cowering behind those very sheets. He reflexively fought back, only to have them entirely removed from his grasp. Averting her eyes as she covered herself, she made a panicked shooing gesture, banishing him from the bed.

Taking in his surroundings in a flash, he became even more disoriented. _This isn’t my house, where the hell am I?_ Barely able to contain his frustration, he snatched up an overly large blue bathrobe from the adjacent bathroom. No longer embarrassingly naked, he tried to think, tried to understand what was going on. However, the shrieks from down the hall invaded his mind, cruelly disrupting any lucid thoughts.

“Can you… go see what’s going on?” Max asked, still extremely unsure of herself. Hesitantly uncovering her eyes, she relaxed somewhat when it became clear that he had covered himself.

“Max, there’s a crying child down the hall.” Her response was swift, she shouted to be heard over the wailing.

“Yes, I can hear that!”

“Why is there a crying child down the hall?” Panic had now seized his rational mind, there was no hope of thinking through this situation with that damned screaming.

“Well… maybe, instead of shouting at each other, you should go and find out!”

“Yes, _we_ should.” Stressing the word ‘we’, he glared at her.

There was no way that he was walking into that nightmare by himself, they would go together. Hesitating for the briefest of moments, she nodded, motioning for him to avert his gaze. Turning away, he let out a long, ragged sigh. The infant’s wails continued unabated, digging into his mind like a relentless invader.

Fear gripped his heart, he wanted to dash down the hall into the next room and discover what tormented the child. His feet, however, refused to move. Overcome with dread concerning the situation, he found himself completely immobilized.

Apparently dressed, Max shoved him into motion from behind. Thankfully, his feet continued on the path that they had been set on. The short journey seemed longer than it should have been. Perhaps this was a dream? The hallway kept expanding before him, delaying his arrival. However, regardless of the ever-expanding hallway before him, he suddenly arrived outside the epicenter of his torments.

Bracing himself for the horrors that lay ahead, he plunged into the breach. A pleasantly decorated room fit for a young child greeted him. Inside he found everything you would expect to find in such a place. Charming as the room was, his heart remained crippled with anxiety. The wailing persisted, emanating from the crib in the far corner for the room. Together, he and Max approached, encouraged by each other’s presence.

Side by side, they peered over the tall railings. They discovered the menace predicted; a distressed infant. As their faces came into view, the struggling infant went silent, looking up at them with interest.

“It… stopped.” He mumbled, sighing in relief. The infant cooed, seemingly pleased with itself. Max let out an adorable sound, the kind that people make when they find something entirely too lovable. Feeling that such a universally sacred expression should be reserved for kittens, or perhaps puppies, Kevin let out another sigh.

Entirely overwhelmed with the magic of the moment, Max reached down and plucked the infant from his crib, holding him close to her chest.

“Hello little William, you are quite the little noisemaker, aren’t you?” The child giggled, most certainly pleased with himself this time. _You bastard._ Before he could ask how Max was so sure what its name was, she motioned towards a plaque posted above the crib. Distressingly, it read exactly what he had feared, _William Anderson_.

Even though he needed no further proof that this child was indeed his, it turned towards him, glaring into his soul. Not only did it have his dark green eyes, but he could feel it reaching out to him with its young, inexperienced mind. The power of the Force flowed through the child with a strength that was to be entirely unexpected from such a tiny creature.

Checking its diaper, Max discovered nothing foul. She promptly disappeared with the infant in search of the kitchen.

“Let’s see if you’re hungry, little guy.”

Entirely dumbfounded, Kevin’s mind finally began to process the recent events. Unfortunately, everything poured forth all at once now that the floodgate of his thoughts had burst. _Where was Kate? Why am I here with Max? Where is here? Why do we have a child? What changed? Who changed what? It couldn’t have been Max. She seemed just as shocked as I was a moment ago. But if it wasn’t her…_

“Chloe.” Her name slipped through his lips like a dreaded curse. Chloe had used her powers. She had changed something, and he knew exactly what she had done.

 


	2. Athena

** _Nine Days Earlier_ **

* * *

An alarmingly large asteroid had been detected on a direct collision course with the Earth. More or less the size of a dreadnought class warship, the massive rock was understandably worrisome to the inhabitants of the planet. A small strike force was hastily assembled and dispatched to redirect or destroy it long before it became a direct threat. Not wishing to waste the opportunity, several resource-gathering teams had been crammed aboard the already packed warships, complicating the mission only slightly.

Once in range of the extra-solar object, the small strike force would scan for resource deposits and exhume anything and everything of interest. By the current interception timeline, the strike force had just over a week’s worth of time to complete the operation. The only reason the navy was even needed was for transport. It was certainly a good opportunity to test out some of the Earth’s United Colonial Naval Force’s ‘new’ ships.

Kevin hated the name. Leave it to politicians to create a name so entirely unoriginal and lengthy that people would make it a point to avoid using it. So far, more than two years after its creation, he had never heard anyone actually use the uninspired title when referencing earth’s naval forces. Simply referred to as ‘the fleet’ or ‘the navy’, Earth’s forces had grown considerably since the ‘Battle for Earth’ almost two and a half years ago.

Only a handful of the ships were home-made, most of the new additions were ‘gifts’ from their allies. The Imperial Remnant and the New Republic had plenty of older Star Destroyers that they no longer needed so a small number of these vessels had been purchased. The Hirosh and Amarakk navies also had large numbers of older, obsolete vessels. Scores of these aging warships were simply given to them. Now that the Earth was part of a massive galactic community, her options expanded considerably.

The Earth’s economy was booming, its people entirely devoted to a single, coherent purpose. Desiring to become more than a small part of the galactic community, the Earth was rapidly expanding its powerbase. Colonization efforts began rapidly, even the most barren and desolate of planets weren’t spared. Countless terraforming projects were underway while the most successful of all the colonies, Alpha Centauri Prime, _damned politicians_ , had become much more than the blossoming rural community it had once been.

In the beginning, the ‘Garden of Eden’ planet had a single, aging shipyard. It now had six. Despite the rapid progress of industrialization, the planet’s beauty was still being carefully preserved.  The planet didn’t just support the fleet now, nearly a quarter of the Earth’s population had emigrated to the planet in waves of government funded settling projects. Rather than improve the living conditions of the most impoverished peoples of planet Earth, the government had found it easier to move them off-world. At first, this had created massive tensions, but as soon as these people saw their new home, their anger was immediately forgotten.

The Earth had entered into a golden age of prosperity. This was most evident when you compared its current standing naval forces to the fleet that had defended the planet only two years prior. Twenty-one vessels belonging to the planet’s own forces had made the stand, all in dubious states of operation. Now, the planet and its colonies boasted exactly forty capital-class warships. Every single one of them was shielded and well-armed. Kevin’s strike force consisted of four ships, each entirely different from the next.

His ship was a battlecruiser-class warship, the first ‘homegrown’ warship designed by the Earth and her colonies. Christened as the _Athena_ , she was sleek, well armored, and boasted an impressive armament. Measuring at twelve-hundred meters from port to stern, the sword-shaped ship was smaller than the Star-Destroyers that made up more than half of the fleet. Due to its smaller mass, however, the _Athena_ was faster, much faster.

Its weaponry was almost entirely dedicated to the point-defense role, dozens of fast-firing kinetic weapons and energy weapons stuck out from its flanks. Sporting a series of missile launchers as well, these were nothing compared to its main weapon: a front facing, triple-barreled, slow firing, and frighteningly powerful rail gun. The entire ship was built around this monstrous weapon that was capable of accelerating massive projectiles at incredible, mind-bending velocities. Due to the limited cone of fire that the _Athena’s_ main weapon possessed, it would never travel alone.

The rest of the strike force consisted of the newly upgraded _Leviathan_ and her companion ship, a heavy-cruiser, the _Triton_. Captain Lucrezia Noin still commanded the _Leviathan_ , all too happy to be assigned to the same flotilla as Kevin. The final vessel in the motley strike force was a Nebulan-B Frigate, a small support ship purchased from the New Republic fittingly renamed the _Isis_. The New Republic wasn’t exactly seen as an ally, relations were frosty at best, but they were eager to sell off unwanted material.

Captain Noin, being the senior captain, technically had command of the operation. However, as soon as strike force cleared the bureaucratic boundaries of their assembly point, she passed the leadership role to the newly promoted Captain Kevin T. Anderson, captain of the _Athena._ Seen as a snub by many, Kevin relished the opportunity to prove his worth. Stepping onto the bridge of his ship, he was casually greeted by his first officer.

“Sup’ dude?”

He did his best to suppress a heavy sigh as the bridge crew chuckled. Kevin still needed more time to become accustomed to the relaxed atmosphere aboard the _Athena._ This hadn’t exactly been his intention, but he should have known it would happen when he had chosen Lieutenant Chloe Price as his first officer. It had been left up to him to pick a subordinate from an endless list of names and faces. To his surprise, he had discovered Chloe’s name directly at the bottom of the list. She had apparently breezed through the crowded naval academy program, despite a lengthy list of infractions.

 In a different time, she might not have graduated, let alone been accepted, but Earth’s rapidly expanding fleet needed bodies, endless amounts of bodies.

“You’re… sure about this?” He had been asked. He had waved off the concerns, he wanted Chloe. Not only was she familiar to him, she was his friend. Max and Kate would also take comfort in the fact that the pair were together, their combined abilities should be able to protect them from anything. Not that there were any specific threats to worry about. There were rumblings of chaos within the massive territory of the New Republic, but then again, there always were.

“At ease lieutenant…” His jest was not lost on the crew, Chloe was slouched at her station, black booted feet on the console before her. Comfortably stretched out, she had her hands clasped behind her head, entirely relaxed.

“Are you kidding me, I’m always at ease,” sparking a fresh bought of giggles from the crew, her words trailed off as her face suddenly turned serious. “Captain on the bridge, at attention maggots!” She was on her feet and at attention before the rest of the crew could hastily scramble to their feet, mimicking her maneuver.

The silence that greeted him as he approached his command chair at the rear of the bridge sent shivers down his spine.

“I could totally do that every time you walk onto the bridge, sound good?”

“Dear Christ, no. Never again. I said at ease not-.”

“Careful with that blasphemy Captain, I know your wife!”

“Noted… and I know yours. Now, Lieutenant Price, if you please, kindly release the crew to their duties. They’re starting to make me nervous.” Chloe smiled as she straightened the officer’s cap that mostly covered her bright blue hair, it was amazing that she had been allowed to keep it.

“At ease shitheads, get back to work! What’s everyone standing around for anyway? We’ve got a rock to blow up!” Unable to contain their amusement, the crew returned to their duties, each and every one of them grinning from ear to ear. Morale would never be an issue on his ship, never in a million years.

Checking the information that was scrolling across his command displays, he noted that they were still several hours from contact with their objective. There was still plenty of time before their coordinated deceleration. The strike force would kill their engines, flip their ships and direct their engines towards their objective and reengage them. A long time would be spent decelerating the strike force and then re-accelerating so that their target would approach them from behind just as their velocities merged. Even though his fleet and the asteroid would be moving through space at a frightening speed, it would appear as if neither were moving, their velocities at relative zero to one another.

Braking maneuvers weren’t scheduled to begin for a while yet, but he had decided to leave his stateroom and join Chloe on the bridge due to his mounting anxiety. The operation was simple. Everything had been planned, the mining crews had mined hundreds of rocks before. This operation was so mundanely textbook that he shouldn’t have been worried. And yet, his apprehension mounted the closer they grew to the deceleration point. He was steadily becoming overwhelmed with concern.

_But why?_

“Yo, are you feeling okay? Your face is doing that thing it does when you’re stressing about something.” _Damn… Chloe’s caught on, that didn’t take long._ It was no surprise. The pair had become quite close in the few short months of their service together.

“It’s nothing specific. I just sense… something. Something troubling.” She cast him an admonishing look, she hated when he wasn’t specific about anything. “I’m sorry. I can’t be more precise. I just… feel something.”

“What are we talking about here? Like is this something like the ‘danger Will Robinson’ sort of something or the ‘shit, I left the stove on’ something?” 

Despite his anxieties, Kevin couldn’t help but smile. His smile slowly faded, however, when he thought about how long it had been since he had been home. It had been three months, eleven days, and seven hours since he had seen his home on Alpha Centauri Prime; _god damned moronic bureaucratic politicians_. He spoke to Kate as often as he could, but it just wasn’t the same as seeing her. Holding her. Touching her.

“Unfortunately, I am inclined to measure it against your first suggestion, but I can’t place this feeling. It almost feels as if… something is coming.”

“Well yeah… an asteroid. Possibly hella’ decked out with resources. But-.” Entirely caught up with a stronger, more intense sensation of danger, Kevin began calling out orders to the strike force.

“All ships, begin emergency braking maneuvers, decelerate to combat speeds! Deploy stage one squadrons. Battle stations!” Without missing a beat, Chloe relayed the orders to the crew of the _Athena_. Within seconds their ship was combat ready as it twisted through space to blunt its velocity, the rest of the strike force following its lead. As the _Leviathan_ maneuvered, its first waves of strike-craft began to flood out of its massive maw of a hangar.

Trusting his intuition, Captain Noin was remaining silent for now, but the captain of the _Triton_ was an entirely different story. Contacting him on a private holo-channel, the brusque Captain Renault’s likeness glared at him, clearly annoyed. Speaking in an almost chiding manner, the older man’s patience seemed to be at its limits.

“Why must you interrupt a childishly easy operation with drills-”

“This is no drill.” Kevin stated as calmly as he could.

“There is a threat? From what? From Where?” The man’s answer came before Kevin could attempt to explain. The asteroid was now rapidly accelerating towards them, under its own power. Captain Renault must have seen this. The man was now speechless.

“There’s your threat,” responded Kevin.

 Nodding gravely, Renault ended the transmission as the small strike force hastily began its deceleration maneuvers. The time to the engagement should have been shrinking as their ships slowed, but it wasn’t. Their objective was accelerating towards them rapidly, reaching near impossible speeds.

“Shields are up, weapons locked and loaded. This girl is ready to kick ass and chew bubblegum… and we’re all out of bubblegum, bitches!” The crew cheered in response to Chloe’s words, but Kevin could sense their mounting nervousness all the same. No ship that massive should be able to accelerate that fast, its crew wouldn’t be able to withstand the effects. Yet, despite these facts, the object which he was certain was no mere asteroid, continued to increase its velocity as it rapidly closed the distance. If it intended to engage them, it would have to slow down, there was no way it would be able to hit them at that insane speed.

Despite the rapidly decreasing momentum of his strike force, their velocity combined with the staggering velocity of the unidentified object would be unthinkable. At these speeds his strike force would pass by the unidentified ship in far less than a fraction of a second. Worryingly, it was continuing on its trajectory that would bring it to Earth.

It had to be stopped.

Hasty communications were dispatched to the fleet headquarters, whatever happened here, the Earth would be ready. One certainty remained despite the many uncertainties that existed, if this object intended to attack, it had to reduce its speed.

Swallowing hard, Kevin watched as the object checked its acceleration, rapidly decelerating faster than the laws of physics should have allowed. He ordered his ships to abandon their own deceleration, perhaps a bit too early. He wanted them pointed in the right direction when this mysterious ship engaged them.

“Object coming into visual range… now.” An ensign reported as a haunting image began to materialize on the main screen.

The ship was even larger than he had imagined, easily over two kilometers in length. Its hull was massive, dwarfing the ships of his strike-force. Equally distressing, the unknown ship was as mass-intensive as it was long. Resembling an aquatic creature, a cuttlefish or perhaps a squid, the colossal ship seemed to have a series of retracted ‘legs’ along its midsection. Equally odd, the approaching behemoth seemed to possess four tendrils that could have been construed as ‘forearms’ to its front.

“A giant… metallic space-squid? Are we sure that’s a ship?”

“Definitely a ship, but I can’t get a reading on its composition…”

“Power readings are off the charts… but I’m not reading any shields?”

“Check that… there are barriers deployed around the ship but their wavelengths are all wrong… turbolasers should punch right through no problem!”

 _Too bad we don’t have turbolasers… most of our ships are armed with kinetic weapons… thank goodness we have the Isis with us_.

At three-hundred meters in length, the EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigate was the smallest ship in the formation. Despite its small size, it was armed with a dozen standard turbolaser batteries. It was almost embarrassing. They had purchased the retired vessel for a bargain, and yet, it was the most valuable ship at the moment.

“Detecting multiple weapons systems on its… arms. Medium powered-”

“Power build up, its central main gun is charging… it’s preparing to attack!”

“All ships, combat spacing, engage when in range! Isis, use the Leviathan for cover, your batteries may end up being more effective against this thing than anything else we have.” Kevin’s orders rang true and clear, receiving a chorus of acknowledgements.

He was taking no chances, since the hostile ship’s weapons were entirely front facing, he would spread out his strike force as much as possible. As his ships spread out, the _Leviathan_ continued to cloud the area around it with strike-craft. In response, the opposing gargantuan launched a swarm of craft around it.

“Drones? Enemy craft are too small to be piloted. Damn… they outnumber our boys at least two to one.” _Wonderful… so much for an advantage in strike-craft. At least ours are piloted. Let’s see drones contend with human skill and ingenuity!_

“As soon as you can guarantee me a hit with our main gun, open fire!” Kevin directed his weapons officer. It was hard to miss the enemy ship, it was so damned big! However, its unprecedented maneuverability had him worried, it might be able to dodge their shots at this range. This seemed impossible, but the unknown vessel had already shown off an impressive list of tricks. His weapons officer, a grim looking mustachioed German, nodded dutifully.  He understood what was required of him.

Time seemed to pass at a crawl as the beast of a ship bore down on them. Kevin’s worries intensified as it drew closer. It was almost as if the ship was reaching out to him, suffocating him, clouding his mind with dread. Thankfully, he was able to shake the feelings away as his ships opened fire.

The _Triton_ pounded the larger ship with its mass drivers and its particle-based beam weapons. As expected, the beam weapons tore straight through its opponent’s barriers while the rounds from its mass drivers had little to no effect. The enemy vessel shrugged off the damage to its armor, undeterred as it approached.

The opening barrage from the _Athena’s_ main gun had a negligible effect on its target. The enemy ship’s barriers rippled as the three-shot salvo dissipated harmlessly against them. Between the embattled adversaries, the strike-craft and the drones locked themselves into a deadly duel for supremacy.

Missiles frustratingly exploded moments before impacting with the enemy ship’s armor. The only weapons that seemed to be making a dent were the _Isis’s_ turbolasers and the beam weapons that the _Triton_ possessed. Not sitting idle, the enemy ship’s beam weapons responded, harassing its attackers, but doing minimal damage to their shields.

“Incoming!” The words had barely been uttered by a young watch-stander when the _Triton_ exploded after sustaining a direct hit from the enemy ship’s central beam-weapon. Momentarily stunned by the sudden loss of the _Triton_ , Kevin stared at the readings of the enemy ship as he desperately searched for a weakness.

“No effect on target!” The gunnery officer was now cursing in his native tongue, switching to ‘galactic basic’ only to make reports. His report hadn’t been exactly correct, their rounds from their rail gun had weakened their opponent’s barriers significantly, but this was little solace. The enemy ship continued to resist their attacks as it maneuvered to engage the _Leviathan_.

The crew of the _Athena_ could only watch as the _Leviathan_ was torn in half by a powerful blast from their enemy, its red beam weapon slicing straight through the once mighty warship. Secondary explosions erupted all along the expanding wreckage. The _Leviathan_ was gone and the _Isis_ was accelerating for all it was worth as it tried to maneuver out of the firing line. While his crew had been watching the deaths of their comrades, Kevin had been focused on something else.

“Chloe, rewind time!”

“What?”

“Just do it!” Conscious of the incredulous stares from the rest of the crew, the woman shrugged and threw up her hand and unleashed her powers. The _Leviathan_ miraculously pieced itself back together, shortly followed by the _Triton_. Kevin’s heart went cold when the time shift suddenly stopped, the world returning to normal. Nearly collapsing from the effort, Chloe quickly wiped blood away from her nose, she could go no further.

There was little time.

“Triton hold your fire until the enemy targets you! Target its main gun, the barriers around it weaken just before it fires!” But he was too late. The _Triton_ had only seconds left, its destruction was inevitable. Frantically turning to Chloe, his words stuck in his throat. She was slumped in her chair, blood steadily streaming out both of her nostrils. Her powers were now lost to him. Just like the _Triton_.

“Medics, see to Lieutenant Price!” As the medical officers on the bridge rushed to her unmoving form, Kevin opened a communications channel to the rest of the fleet. The _Leviathan_ was to be the next target, but she had no heavy armaments. The _Leviathan_ was a carrier and its strike-craft were currently locked in a desperate struggle with the enemy drones.

“Captain Noin, evacuate your ship! Get out of there! Isis, try and knock out that weapon before it can fire again!” Unfortunately, his enemy had already realized the danger that the Isis presented. Hordes of drones were now slipping by the overwhelmed strike-craft squadrons, bearing down on the small ship. The _Isis’s_ single squadron of interceptors scrambled to defend their mothership.

The enemy ship was poised to fire on the _Leviathan,_ seeking a clear shot at the _Isis_. Out in the open, already harassed by a swarm of drones, and without the protection of the _Leviathan’s_ numerous point-defense batteries, the _Isis_ would be torn apart. Wasting no time, Kevin turned to his weapons officer.

_We only have one shot at this…_

“All weapons hold fire!” Stunned by the order, the German man nonetheless obeyed. “Helm, full ahead, get us nice and close to the bastard! I want every weapon we have in range.” Swallowing hard, his helmsman executed his orders despite the fears that were consuming him. The crewman’s thoughts rang in his head as if they were his own. _Closer? You want us closer to that fucking thing? Fuck!_

“Is the plan to let it blow us to pieces, eh captain? Or am I allowed to tickle it some more before we all die?” Smiling wickedly to the German, Kevin was glad that the man hadn’t lost his sense of humor.

“Just before that damned thing fires its main weapon, its barriers go down. We’re going to hit it with everything that we have just before it fires on us! There’s nothing we can do to save the _Leviathan_ , we won’t have a shot.” Just as escape pods began to trickle away from the _Leviathan,_ it was sheered in half once again. A few dozen survivors were better than none, this fact did little to calm Kevin’s mounting storm of grief.

The lesser beam weapons on the enemy craft flashed out all at once just as the _Isis_ began a barrage of its own. Despite its shields and superior firepower, the smaller ship was easily dispatched. A series of explosions rippled the area around the enemy ship’s main weapon. Unfortunately, according to his readings, the weapon was still fully operational. The hasty bombardment had failed.

“We’re all that’s left.” Someone whispered, sending a shockwave of fear throughout the bridge. _Damnit Jenkins, keep your thoughts to yourself next time._

“Come here you bitch, I’m going to blow you straight to hell!” No one cheered at the German’s brave words, some even looked at the mustached man as if he were crazy. It was almost as if he was welcoming their inevitable deaths as the enemy ship turned to face its approaching prey. Hands steady on the controls, mustache twitching, he waited.

“All weapons now in range!” Kevin’s weapons officer growled, his posture stiffening in anticipation. The massive enemy ship loomed menacingly over them, like some Lovecraftian beast. Its very presence seemed to be infecting his crew with dread. Kevin could feel it, almost taste it.

“Helm, weapons, on my command you will initiate our attack and begin evasive maneuvers but keep us on target!” A series of tense affirmations rang out, the bridge’s nervousness ebbed just slightly now that it was confirmed that their captain was at least going to try to keep them alive, even if the chances seemed slim at best. The waiting was the worst part. Mouth dry, hair standing on end, stomach churning, eyes glued on his data screens, Kevin waited. A lifetime of suffering passed before the moment was upon them.

“Now!”

The ship shuddered as every weapon fired at once. Anti-cruiser point-defense beams and kinetic anti-fighter batteries blasted away as dozens of missiles burst forth from their launchers. Meanwhile, the main gun thrummed underneath them. _One…Two… Three,_ Kevin found himself counting as each round was unleashed. Adding to the chaos, the ships maneuvering thrusters were desperately trying to disobey the laws of physics and move their ship out of the line of fire. The inertial dampeners whined in protest.

The effect of their desperate barrage was immediate, their blow struck home as a dramatic series of explosions raked the enemy ship. The crew’s cheers were cut short, however, when it became clear that the enemy’s main gun was still charging.

“Evacuate the bridge!” Kevin roared.

Precious seconds were lost as the crew panicked, stumbling over even the simplest of obstacles. The bridge was located deep within the ship, just above the main battery. Usually they would have been safe here from any attack, but their enemy was poised to strike straight through them. There were two thick blast-doors on either side of the bridge and the small bridge crew was rushing to them.

The enemy ship was about to fire. None of them would make it.

Reaching out with the Force, Kevin plucked the fleeing crewman off of their feet and shoved them out of the door furthest away from him. A mass of bodies collided painfully with the deck as the blast-door slammed shut behind them. His concentration was thrown off as someone tackled him, the pair landing hard on the deck as the bridge’s blast-door slammed shut behind them. Before he could come to his senses, the most horrifying sound he had ever heard in his life assaulted his ears as the world around him descended into chaos.

 

* * *

 

“Snap out of it!”

The dull pain in his head doubled, stars exploding at the edges of his vision as it returned to him. “Jesus dude, you scared the shit out of me.” It was Chloe, face bloodied, but alive.

“You didn’t have to smack the shit out of me,” groaning as he struggled to his feet, Kevin was forced to steady himself against something far colder than it should have been.

Reflexively withdrawing his hand, he suddenly realized what had happened. Behind that door, where the bridge had once existed, was nothing but space. The forward sections of the ship were gone, but the rear sections containing engineering must be intact, the ship still had gravity and power.

“Well, we’re not entirely fucked…” Chloe used the sleeve of her uniform to wipe at her bloodied face and was only partially successful in her efforts. Finally steady on his feet, he looked around. To his right was the blast-door where the bridge had once existed, while about two dozen paces to his front was another blast-door, sealed shut. Noticing the direction of his gaze, Chloe grimaced.

“Asshole is sealed shut, I was about to see what I could do to open it, but I thought it would be best to try and wake you up again before I went poking around.”

“By punching me in the head?”

“Dude, you’ve been out for a while, what do you want from me, an apology?” Knowing that he would never get anything close to that, Kevin shook his head, sprouting a fresh wave of dizziness. “Good, cause I hella’ saved your ass back there. That’s two you owe me now.”

“Alright, alright, let’s go see about this damned door. Thanks, by the way.” Chloe simply nodded as she resumed her labors of cleansing her face, her nose had finally stopped bleeding.

The journey to the blast-door felt longer than it should have, but the weary pair made it all the same. The heavy door refused to open, naturally, but the safety equipment insisted that everything was just fine on the other side. The door was cold, but naturally cold, not ‘holy shit there’s nothing but space on the other side’ cold.

Igniting his lightsaber with a _snap-hiss_ , Chloe watched with child-like amazement as he prepared to cut his way through the massive door. Her expression hardened, however, when it became clear what he intended to do.

“Wait, you’re not serious, are you?” Blinking in momentary confusion, Kevin hesitated.

“I mean… do you have a better idea? This will take a while but I’ll get it open.” Chloe sighed, shaking her head in disappointment.

“And if we have to close it again…?” Disengaging his lightsaber with a sigh of his own, Kevin stared regretfully at the insurmountable obstacle before them. He hadn’t thought about that. In the state that the _Athena_ was in, it would be suicidal to leave even one blast door inoperable. Luckily, Chloe had a plan, because he was stumped.

Directly to the right of the blast door there was a maintenance panel that Chloe expertly removed without so much as a fuss.

“There’s a manual override in here, it’s going to a real bitch to get the door open and then closed again but it’ll be hella’ worth it if there’s a decompression in here once we’ve moved on. I don’t know about you, but I want more than just one blast-door between us and space, right?”

“You have a point. Here, let me do that.” The embarrassment of not understanding the basic mechanical operation of the doors on _his_ own ship had passed. Watching Chloe struggle with the manual release valve was only momentarily amusing. Now that Chloe mentioned it, he was now more keenly aware than ever that very little separated them from the vastness of empty space. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end, or was it something else that had him on edge?

Chloe grumbled as she made way for him to have a go at the valve, but her face turned to wonder when it became apparent that he had no intention of physically wrestling with the mechanism. Reaching out with the force, Kevin ignored the suffocating presence that was weighing down on him and focused on the valve. Slowly, at first, it turned. Screeching in protest, the blast door opened just as slowly, drowning out Kevin’s grunts of effort.

As soon as the mighty door was ajar, just wide enough for them to slip through, Kevin ceased his efforts, breathing heavily.

“You alright there? You sound like a vacuum cleaner, you know when it’s sucked up a penny?” asked Chloe, flashing a taunting smile.

“Hah, Hah. I’m fine. Let’s just get through and get this blasted thing closed again.”

“Yes, sir!” Chloe saluted dramatically and climbed over the lower section of the thick door, squeezing her lithe form through the opening. As Kevin followed her, he contemplated on how difficult such a simple task had been. _Should I tell her about this… presence that I can feel. Is it just me, or can she sense it too?_  His thoughts were mercilessly cut short as he took in the scene of carnage that greeted them on the other side of the blast-door.

Chloe let out a sudden gasp as she too took in the horrific sight. Three bodies were clearly visible in the hallway that lay before them. A nearby power conduit must have overloaded and exploded when the ship had been put out of action. The shrapnel from the blast had killed all the nearby crewmen, bringing their lives to a sudden stop. The hallway was covered in blood and gore, far too much to have come from just three bodies. Wrenching his gaze away from the grizzly scene, Kevin set to work closing the door.

Entirely focused on his exhausting task, he was completely surprised to notice that Chloe was gone. Panic set in, but only for a moment. Casting away his foolish reaction, he contemplated the oppressive force once more. _Was it influencing him? Corrupting his thoughts and actions? If so, what about everyone else? Did his force-sensitivity make him more or less susceptible to the strange presence?_ The unanswerable questions persisted as he numbly made his way through the carnage. He didn’t need to check the three crewmen. They were dead.

Ahead of him, a blast-door was securely closed, but the passage to his right was open. Rounding the corner, he found Chloe leaning over an injured woman. Injured was an understatement. It was clear from the streak of blood that the woman had dragged herself away from her deceased companions with great difficulty. As he approached, it became obvious exactly how little life remained in the young-woman.

“Hold on Rachel… just hold on!” _Rachel? As in Rachel Amber? She’s dead, isn’t she?_ Kevin wracked his brain as he peered over Chloe’s trembling shoulders to inspect the dying girl’s disheveled face. From what he could remember, the girl looked similar to Chloe’s former love, but the features were all wrong in every way that counted.

Mentally shrugging, he began to doubt himself as Chloe’s grief intensified. The dying woman would soon leave the world of the living, he could feel it. As the woman’s presence in the Force diminished, Kevin began to connect the dots. There was no way Chloe would ever mistake anyone for Rachel Amber, she was gone. Rachel’s absence in Chloe’s life was a constant void that couldn’t be filled, even with her love for Max.

There was something sinister at work playing out before his eyes. Something powerful. He had felt it approaching long before the engagement, and it wasn’t just affecting him. Whatever it was, it was as oppressive as it was disturbing. His connection to the Force might be changing the nature in which his mind interacted with it, but he was certain it was worming its way into Chloe’s mind as well. Turning her own thoughts against her.

The life left the crumpled form of the young woman Chloe had mistaken for Rachel as she worried over her with futility. Her mounting grief exploded in a cascade of agony as she lost her first love once again. His heart ached as Chloe’s aura in the force intensified, her despair quickly becoming his own.

_Enough!_

Kevin’s powers were mostly related to combat in one form or another, but he had the Force. As overwhelming as this entombing sensation of dread was, the Force was stronger.

The Force was everything.

Not bothering to take any time to center himself, he pushed back against the dread. It resisted at first, but it relented to his crushing power. It was at that moment, just as the festering dread was mounting a full retreat in the wake of his abilities, that Kevin realized what he had done.

Victory had been so near, so certain. But the cost of that triumph would have been too great. He had touched the darkness, drawn from it, and used it as a weapon.

 _No_. _Not like him. Never like him_.

Fear consumed his mind as his connection to the Force abruptly broke. He could not afford to touch the dark side of the Force, but he had.

Thankfully, he was spared the moral dilemma and the repercussions of what he had just done as his strength left him. Entirely surprised at how much energy he had expended to push away the menacing dread. He collapsed to the deck, the dull thud of his limp form barely registering to his own ears.  Chloe, suddenly awakened from her stupor, cried out in shock, she must have. Kevin was certain of nothing else as his mind slipped into unconsciousness.

 

* * *

 

“Dude, wake up!”

Still in a daze, his mind muddled and groggy, Kevin slowly returned to the world. Entirely unimpressed with his surroundings, he closed his eyes to the world as he grimaced against a dull throbbing pain that was developing in the back of his mind. He felt unnaturally cold despite being entirely covered by blankets.

_Wait… blankets?_

Eyes snapping opening after a singular moment of clarity struck him. Kevin shoved himself off of the deck. Regretting his actions almost immediately, he found his body stiff and sore, pain stabbed numbly at him as he gradually become more and more aware of his surroundings.

“Whoa, easy there, space-wizard. You’ve been out for-.”

“How long?” Kevin demanded as his heart raced. Everything seemed darker than he remembered, colder, noticeably smaller. The once spacious corridor now felt like a confined coffin.

“A few hours… okay, a lot more than a few.” Chloe’s usual enthusiasm was nowhere to be found as her voice trailed off. _We’ve been drifting around in the remains of our dead ship for hours. Fuck._

“Define ‘a few hours’.” He demanded but Chloe lazily shook her head. Her officer’s cap long discarded, perhaps used as a hand-towel to wipe away blood from her face and hands, her blue hair waved haphazardly around her head. It seemed to be acting entirely on its own as her head swayed back and forth, which could only mean one thing: the ship’s artificial gravity was beginning to fail. Critical life support systems wouldn’t be far behind.

_Shit._

Noticing the distress in his face as she forced him to lay down once again, Chloe rolled her eyes. As his head returned to its pillow, which turned out to be Chloe’s lap, she slowly started to speak.

“Yeah it fucking blows, right? We barely survive a shit-kicking from some alien ship only to die as our oxygen and heat run out. Fucking grim. Want to take bets on what kills us first? I’m betting on freezing to death, sounds way more appealing than running out of oxygen. You game?”

He couldn’t help but smile. As he looked up at Chloe’s playful smile, he noticed that she too was bundled up in an electric survival blanket. Moving his head slowly so as not to send shockwaves of pain rippling through his body, he surveyed their surroundings. Portable heaters, air cannisters, portable breathing equipment, even some ration packs encircled them. Chloe had thought of everything.

“I’m Canadian, so I’ll take freezing to death over the other thing.” _What was the other thing again? Why was it so hard to think? Was the oxygen that bad already?_

“You’re lame, no fun at all,” chuckling in spite of her displeasure, she fixed him with a hard stare. “Time for the bad news though. You really fucked yourself up when you collapsed. Like, I’m probably more covered in your blood than mine right now. For real dude, Jesus, your fucking head can bleed like a fucking sprinkler when it wants to!”

 _I guess that’s why I feel so out of it… wait, am I wearing a survival suit?_ After a quick inspection Kevin determined that he was indeed entirely suited up in an emergency survival suit, as was Chloe. She really had thought of everything.

“You dressed me? Aren’t you not supposed to move people with head injuries?” Chloe rolled her eyes once again in exasperation.

“Shit dude, I didn’t realize you were a fucking doctor too! What if we get spaced when this shit decompresses? Kate would kill me if I let you die in this shithole-.”

“Quit bad-mouthing my ship Lieutenant!”

“Your ship is fucked, sir, it’s a shit-.” Kevin pretended as if Chloe hadn’t spoken and cut her off once again.

“And we don’t even have masks on, if we decompress we’re fucked anyway.”

“Rationing our oxygen reserves, who knows when the life support systems will cut out, you know, if we don’t freeze to death before that happens.”

“Noted. Anything else to report before we both die?” At this, Chloe’s demeanor became entirely serious.

“You better go into that Jedi healing trance… thingy or something, I’ll take care of things on this end while you un-fuck yourself.” At the mention of his powers his entire body went rigid.

“No.” His response was flat and firm. There would be no argument, but Chloe being Chloe, argued anyway.

“No? What the shit do you mean: no? You’ve got badass powers, so use them!”

“I touched the dark side Chloe, no!”

“What? Who the fuck cares?”

“I care! I won’t end up like him!” She knew exactly who he was talking about. Just about anybody would. The man he had been cloned from, the man formerly known as Kevin, his ‘master’.

Chloe was silent for a long time, she just sat on the deck, leaning against a bulkhead, shivering. He was becoming quite cold as well, the portable heaters and the electric blankets were doing little to keep the all-consuming cold of the dead of space at bay.

Finally, just as he felt himself slipping into a state that was a far cry from conscious, she spoke. Her voice was calm, almost nonchalant.

“Look dude. There’s some serious shit out there. I can feel it so I know you can feel it too. I need my space-wizard back, I don’t give two shits about the dark side or the light side. I’m not going to talk about what happened back there with that girl, but I actually thought she was Rachel. That was fucked up, I would never mistake _anyone_ for Rachel, never. But I did. Something or someone crazy dangerous is onboard that other ship and I need you to cowboy the fuck up and get yourself in a healing trance so you can kick its ass before I go insane, got it?”

Kevin wanted to protest, to argue, to tell her to go fuck herself. She was right though. Light and dark didn’t matter at the moment. All that mattered was survival. Something was out there, something entirely unlike anything the people of Earth had ever faced. He needed to survive and he needed the Force to do it. Exhaling as he centered himself, he opened himself back up to the Force.

Normally the experience would have been intoxicating, but at once he felt the presence of the dread suffocate his thoughts. He needed to push it back, properly this time, once and for all. However, in order to do this, he needed strength. It was time for a healing trance.

“Wake me up if we die.” Chloe’s telltale chuckle was the last thing he heard before he slipped off into deep, relaxing, peace.

 

* * *

 

Unsure of whether he had been awoken by the brittle cold, the all-consuming feeling of encroaching dread, or the completion of his healing trance, Kevin was certain of one thing: it was time to act. Focusing, he let the Force flow through him. Feeling the numbness in his body wash away, his spirits lifted as his connection to the Force intensified. The feeling was intoxicating, liberating, and terrifying.

Something new was there. Something clouded. Something dark. He had touched it before. It now begged him, pleaded him, goaded him to touch it again.

Doggedly refusing to give in to the temptation, he steeled himself against the dread looming over him. With the threat of suffocating all too prevalent, Kevin gathered his strength and pushed. It wasn’t enough. The darkness laughed and mocked his weakness.

Refusing to be baited to anger, Kevin completely gave himself over to the Force. Sensing Chloe more than feeling her, he took comfort in the warmth of her presence. His mind exploded with awareness. Several dozen other souls still clung to life aboard the wreckage of his ship. He sensed more in escape-pods, scattered in the vastness of space. Best of all, he sensed the grim determination of those who still fought on. The _Leviathan_ and the _Isis_ may have fallen, but the remnants of their fighter squadrons persisted. He touched each presence, nurturing feelings of hope and courage. It was only then that he truly felt his enemy.

His enemy, his dread wasn’t onboard the ship. It _was_ the ship. Its power was as massive as its form. The shots from the _Athena’s_ final defiant barrage had crippled it, but it remained undefeated. Lurking like a wounded beast, his enemy was close, very close. Emboldened and empowered by those that he needed to protect, by those who still fought on, he pushed. The dread abated.

It was gradual at first, but soon it felt as if a breath of fresh air was forcibly shoved into him. Crisp and refreshing. It took him a few moments to realize that air was indeed being driven into him. Cold air, clean air, packaged air. Chloe had secured his survival suits breathing apparatus. Entirely conscious of his surroundings, he looked up at her through a partially fogged up mask. Her mask was on as well.

“Good work, sir.” She coughed and adjusted the intake of her mask slightly, trembling against the cold.

“Life support just went, didn’t it?” His question was entirely unnecessary, but he found himself asking anyway. Chloe nodded. The end was coming, it wouldn’t be long now.

“How have you and Kate been, I haven’t asked lately huh?” _Kate_. _What I would do to see Kate again before this all ends…_ his thoughts drifted off as Chloe’s question hung in the space between them.

“We’re good, she’s mostly forgiven me for all of the lies. But, there’s still this rift between us. My fault.” It was his fault. His lies had been his own to make, it didn’t matter that he had been told to make them. It hadn’t made them hurt Kate any less.

“That’s good. Max and I are great. Except for the part where I abandoned her to join up. She’s still pissed about it. Gotta keep her safe though, right?”

“Right.” Kevin turned to look at Chloe only to find out that he could barely make out the details of her face, the damned mask was fogging up too much. _These things suck, how the hell are we supposed to see in these damned things, let alone fight in them?_

“We did it though, right? We saved the day and all that?” A sense of horror was creeping into Chloe’s voice. She needed to hear that they had triumphed. Luckily for her, he didn’t have to lie.

“We did it, we saved the day.”

“Fuck yeah! Don’t worry about the girls, five bucks says that they will hook up after our funeral.” Kevin smiled, that was a much better image of Kate wallowing in misery because he had frozen to death aboard a crippled ship.

“Oh yeah? Ten bucks says that Kate makes the first move on Max then.” Chloe giggled as she shivered, her teeth chattering away.

“No way! Twenty says Max jumps her right after the funeral, throws her right up against the-.”

“I’ll take that bet, you’re on!” Dying was a lot more enjoyable when Chloe was around, even though it was miserably cold. The giggling pair shook on it, he could barely feel her gloved hand. It was hard finding each other’s hands in the near pitch darkness. The simple gesture was further hindered by the constant shaking that entirely consumed them.

“Fuck it. Since our girls are gonna’ be hooking up soon, it’s okay if we cuddle, I’m fucking freezing over here, get off my lap and hold me before I turn into a meat-popsicle.”

 Kevin complied, but the maneuver was difficult. Not only was his entire body stiff and shaking, but the artificial gravity barely existed at all anymore. It took time, readjusting, and deliberately slow movements, but soon the pair had managed to snuggle up in the corner of the hallway, burrowed underneath their spent electric blankets.

They sat in silence for a long time, taking comfort in each other’s company as they patiently waited for the end. Teeth chattering, bones aching from constant shaking, bodies numb from cold, they didn’t think that they would have to wait long. When Chloe broke the reverent silence, her voice was a ghostly whisper, barely audible above her chattering teeth.

“I wish I could rewind time back before Rachel died, so I could see her again, one last time…” Kevin tightened his grip around his friend, comforting her as best he could.

“You’ll see her soon enough. We both will.”

“She’s awesome, she’s kickass. Just wait and see, you will totally love her.”

“I bet.”

“Max, I’ll miss Max though… this is fucking bullshit.” Chloe became worrying silent after that. Moments later her body went entirely still.

 _Kate._ Barely had her name crossed his mind when the world around him ceased being cold, ceased having any sense of meaning at all.

 

 


	3. Revan

Slowly, with what felt like the full weight of the universe pressing down on him, Kevin opened his eyes. It took some time for his groggy mind to come to terms with the shockingly bright environment that he found himself occupying.

_A hospital._

It had to be. Only in a hospital would you find a bed so uncomfortable, lights so paralyzing and air so free of imperfections that it tasted stale. Kevin hated hospitals. He hated them even though on three separate occasions in the previous few years, hospitals and their staff had saved his life.

However, his misery for finding himself in another hospital was quickly replaced with elation as his blurred vision took in the sight of his wife. Kate was dressed, as usual, conservatively and professionally. It was rare that she showed off her enticing womanly features to the world. Those were for him alone.

In stark contrast to her usual clean and well-kept appearance, her clothes were wrinkled and her entire countenance seemed disheveled. Her dirty-blonde hair, almost always kept in a neat bun, was doing its best to escape its confinement. It took a while for Kevin's eyes to adjust to the blinding lights in order to properly take in his wife's appearance. Fortunately, he had all the time in the world to stare. She was fast asleep in the semi-comfortable looking chair next to his bed.

Several books were haphazardly strewn about her immediate area as well as several half-eaten or simply untouched items of food. Her violin case lay at her feet, the lid ajar and the clasp unfastened. Kevin's aching eyes wandered back to her face, she would have seemed entirely at peace if it hadn't been for the lines of intense worry that plagued her enchanting visage.As he stared, a troubling thought wormed its way into his head:  _How long has she been here? How long have I?_

A tingling sensation rippled down his spine as if summoned by the distressing thoughts. His entire body ached and was tight from lack of use. Struggling against his weakness, he managed to force his body into a slightly more upright position, if just barely. Inhaling deeply in triumph from the enormous task, his sharp intake of air swiftly morphed into a coughing fit as his parched throat mounted a desperate protest.

Kate's eyes shot open and like a force of nature she was upon him. In no time at all, cool, refreshing, life giving water eased its way down his throat as the love of his life smiled down on him. Just as he was finishing his water, he detected a trace of something foul as he swallowed. The disturbance made his insides tremble.

_Bacta._

"They put me in a Bacta tank... didn't they?" The words escaped him like a groan of despair. He hated Bacta. His distaste for the miracle substance was foolish, he knew, but he hated it anyway. It smelled. It tasted horrendous. It felt awkward against his skin, it was just awful.  _Thank the stars I wasn't conscious for it, I'd probably have had a panic attack waking up in the tank._ Kevin shuddered as the thought of being dumped in a tank full of Bacta overwhelmed him.

Kate smiled at him warmly as she returned the now empty glass of water to the table next to his bed. The lines of worry on her face intensified as she spoke.

"Three times. They had to give you three separate treatments..." Her words trailed off as she looked down upon him, her eyes welling with intensity.

"Fantastic." His sarcastic response did little to cheer her, but all at once his mind tore its focus to Chloe. What had happened to Chloe? Kate read his sudden reaction perfectly, she calmly shushed him as he stirred.

"She's getting her third treatment now, she'll be back with us soon. She'll be fine."

Kevin wished he could relax after hearing such pleasant news, but he couldn't. It hadn't been just his ship and crew against that thing. Three other ships and their crews had been lost. The survivors were sure to be few. Kate expertly read his mood and leaned over him, holding him close, refusing to let go for a long time. It felt good to be in her arms again, he felt safe, whole, entirely at peace. But the darkness of what had happened refused to let go. The misery refused to be banished.

Kate's arms tightened around him the instant she realized that he was crying. She did her best to comfort his sorrows away but there was little she could do. Thousands of men and women under his command had perished, blasted out of existence with very little effort from that demon of a ship. Those that had survived the harrowing experience must have suffered from its intoxicating effects, crippling their minds.

Suddenly the full weight of the experience came back to haunt him. A single, dreadful question hung in his mind.

_What happened to that ship?_

His tears broke just as suddenly as they had appeared. Even though he wanted to remain in Kate's arms for the rest of eternity, he had to get a warning out about what exactly that thing was capable of.

"You need to get me into contact with someone at fleet headquarters, I need to warn them—" Kate cut him off with the fiercest, most passionate kiss he could remember from their almost seven years of time together. He couldn't help but get lost in the kiss, returning it with one of his own. His mind screamed at him for haste, for urgency, the fate of the galaxy could be at stake.

The galaxy could damned well wait _._

The galaxy didn't have to wait long though, the kiss was over much sooner than Kevin had wanted it to be. Kate's next words surprised him, even though they shouldn't have.

"Don't worry, Revan already took care of everything. I don't know the specifics, you know how they never tell  _me_  anything, but Revan contacted me personally."

Lord Revan. Or Darth Revan if you were brave enough to whisper the ill-fated moniker. It wasn't wise to remind the galaxy of the man's Sith lineage. Kevin had been cloned from the man. Luckily, the pair were impossible to confuse now. Recovering from his injuries inflicted upon him during the 'Battle for Earth' a different man, Kevin's clone took a new name.

Revan.

Kevin knew very little concerning the tale, but there had been another Darth Revan a long, long time ago. The man had begun his life as a Jedi, but he slipped to the dark side and became a Sith. Confusingly enough, as the legend goes, he turned from the Sith and became something else. Now quite understandably insane, Revan attempted to dominate the galaxy.

He failed of course, but that wasn't important.

Long ago, before his return to Earth, the real Kevin Anderson discovered an ancient Sith relic, the Mask of Revan. He used to wear it to scare the shit out of his enemies, or when he needed its raw power. Now, he was never seen without it. If he was seen at all.

The man had become entirely reclusive, shutting himself off from the rest of the galaxy. Rumors were that he only consulted with Admiral Natasi Daala, but such meetings were rare. He also had heard reliable reports that Kimberly Dominic visited him despite everything, adamantly refusing to be shut out, like he had everything else.

The man was still technically the grand admiral, but he was now more commonly referred to by his other, more sinister names. The masked man was still Kevin's master, though it had been years since any lesson had been given. Neither apprentice nor master wished to be around one another.

Kevin found the man's presence suffocating while Revan feared about infecting his apprentice with the dark side of the Force.

_I should have known he would sort everything out. Wait... what is he going to do when he finds out that I touched the dark side?_

_He will kill you._  The voice that answered made him shiver.

Even though it felt as if the incredible weight of the galaxy had been lifted from his shoulders, and entirely new force shoved down on him. He had touched the dark side, there would be consequences.

Unsurprisingly, all the excitement left him exhausted. It must have shown because Kate looked down on him knowingly. She implored him to get some rest and focus on recovering. Even if he had wanted to remain awake, he soon discovered that his path to unconsciousness was set in stone. It was time to rest.

 

* * *

 

Kevin awoke some time later, perhaps much later, he had no way of knowing. He felt considerably better than he had before, his strength was returning. His spirit, however, was noticeably diminished. Kate and her belongings were gone. In their place sat a familiar figure, Lieutenant Hans. The man hadn't changed much over the years.

He still wore his black aviator's sunglasses; his black hair was still slicked back and his face was still accented in the same dark stubble. It was almost creepy how little the man had changed, creepier still that he never took off those damned sunglasses. Despite the never-ending youthfulness that Hans seemed to possess, one thing had changed, it was hard to miss. 

Hans was wearing a uniform.

Over the years, Kevin had only ever seen the man in plain-clothes and once in combat armor, never had he seen him wear a uniform. Even more surprising, Hans was dressed in a spotless old all-black Imperial-style trooper officer's uniform. Not a dark blue uniform belonging to the Earth's new military forces.

_Interesting_.

Without so much as a greeting, Hans began to speak. As emotionless as ever, Hans brought Kevin up to speed on the events that had happened after the battle with the hostile vessel.

He began by informing him of the number of survivors, which set a grim mood for the entirety of their conversation. Two-hundred and thirty-seven men and women from the  _Athena_ and the  _Leviathan_  had survived. A frighteningly small number of these survivors were the remnants of the  _Leviathan's_ fighter squadrons who had fought a war of attrition against the hostile drones and flown away victorious, if just barely.

Several dozen escape pods had managed to flee the doomed  _Leviathan_ , Captain Noin and Colonel Zechs Marquise had not been among them. The cheerful and encouraging Lucretzia Noin and her well known masked paramour, were no more. Kevin hadn't known Zechs well at all, but Noin had been a mentor of sorts, a constant champion of his skills and abilities. Most importantly, she had been his friend.

Key word: had. She, like so many others, was now gone.

Not seeming to notice Kevin's misery at the news, Hans continued on.

The  _Night Hammer_  and a squadron of Star-Destroyers arrived on the scene to find nothing but wrecked ships, floating corpses, and the surviving star-fighters strafing the seemingly inoperable enemy ship. The last desperate shot from the  _Athena_  must have disabled the enemy ship somehow, but that hadn't discouraged the commander of the  _Night Hammer_.

At the helm, Lord Revan immediately ordered an all-out assault on the enemy ship. Very little had remained of the enemy ship once the bombardment of thousands of turbolasers ceased.

Fleet researchers and the Earth's scientific community mounted a protest of Revan's actions. Who knew what secrets this strange vessel held? Unfortunately for them, Lord Revan had barely begun. What little remained of the enemy vessel was collected. Piece by piece, every single scrap of the enemy ship was laboriously gathered, loaded onto an automated transport vessel, and sent plunging into the sun.

Lord Revan feared nothing. However, something about the enemy ship had troubled him enough to wipe out every physical trace of it. Hans reported that Revan would discuss this with Kevin at a later date, he would say no more on the matter.

Hans congratulated Kevin on his performance during the encounter and continued by informing him that Lord Revan had sent his compliments as well.  _How can they praise me for my actions? I lost four ships and thousands of crew!_  In spite of this, Kevin was to receive a promotion, effective immediately. Hans presented him with his new rank insignia and without any pomp or ceremony, he became Rear Admiral Kevin Anderson.

Something akin to half of the  _Athena_  still existed, but it was far from salvageable. Hans informed him that several new Star Destroyers were being ordered from various allies. Delivery of these vessels was to be rushed and expedited along with several other vessels that were brimming with turbolasers. The Earth's military had made the mistake of outfitting its newest ships with projectile weapons which had proven quite useless against their new enemy.

That mistake would not be repeated.

It was embarrassing having to rely on the rest of the galaxy for weaponry, but a necessity. The Earth's fledging empire must be protected and older 'Galactic War' era Star Destroyers were relatively inexpensive at the moment. Newer, more advanced models of the ships were being churned out by both the New Republic and the Imperial Remnant in outrageous quantities. Arms buildups usually meant only one thing; War. Hans refused to speculate on who the war would be with, claiming to not have access to the necessary information.

_Liar_.

Kevin would receive one of these 'new' Star Destroyers when it arrived, which even with the expedited timeframe, would take months. Until his ship arrived and a new crew was assembled from the endless supply of willing recruits, Kevin was ordered to recover. That was it.

He had balked and argued but to no avail, Kevin was now on vacation. Kate would certainly be thrilled when she learned of this if she didn't know already. Even though it felt like he was being sidelined for one reason, or several, Kevin at least took solace in the fact that he would finally get to spend much needed time enjoying the company of his wife.

When Hans was finished with his report, he nodded and left the room. The sudden emptiness of the room didn't last long. Almost immediately after Hans's departure, Chloe burst into the room with excitement. She was in a wheelchair and she looked like hell. She was pale, skinnier than usual and shivered every so often but none of this seemed to dampen her spirits. Max, quite furious, marched in close behind her wife.

"Chloe! I told you to take it easy! Racing around in your wheelchair is  _not_  taking it easy!"

"Awww, come on Mom! I want to play with my friends!" Chloe pleaded like an innocent child, Max's fury abated almost instantly, turning into amused giggles. Kevin smiled.

"It's good to see you guys, and especially good to see you rolling around Chloe. I'm a little jealous, I still can't get out of bed."

"Then stop being a pussy and get up, come on! We can have a race or play bumper cars or some shit." Max groaned as Chloe laughed. Kevin's smiled broadened as Max glared half-heartedly down at her mischievous partner, it was good to be around his friends again.

 

* * *

 

 

Kevin was in the hospital for a grand total of three days. Two of those days he had been entirely unconscious and in and out of Bacta tanks. After the third day, he was free. Free from the hospital at least. His body, still mostly crippled and useless, needed time to heal. Kate protested, of course, but he wanted to be anywhere but a hospital. If he wasn't to be on his ship, he wanted to be home.

The day that Kevin left the hospital he realized for the first time that he wasn't on Earth. This was good, Earth wasn't his home anymore. Even though the Treize Faction had vanished, Kate wanted nothing to do with the Earth, it was tainted, ruined for her. Her family was also there, that didn't help either. Fortunately, acquiring a home on Alpha Centauri Prime had been quite simple for them, Kevin was sort of a big deal at this point.

He was a hero, though, he was entirely confused as to why. His participation in the famed 'Battle for Earth' was quite well known. The attention he now received from his new fame was infuriating. However, one good development had come out of the whole ordeal. People no longer referred to him as 'the clone,' he was his own person now. That almost made up for everything, almost.

Kevin hadn't been the only one fighting that day, far from it, but his deeds seemed to outshine most. A Japanese division that had fought aboard the  _Night Hammer_  had caught Kevin's interest while the rest of the world romanticized his experiences. Their commander, Ryo Watanabe, had handled himself like a total badass. His unit's position had been surrounded, cut off from the rest of the ship almost in the beginning, yet his unit held out until the end.

Wiped out, almost to a man, the unit had fought on. Even when their ammunition had run out entirely, Captain Watanabe held firm. Time and time again he and his men repelled their enemy, inflicting tremendous damage on their foes. To make the story even better, it ends in a glorious banzai charge. Simply perfect.

And yet, the media barely noticed the young Captain and his brave soldiers. However, Sabaton, one of Kevin's favorite bands, had made a song about them. They fucking deserved it. Kevin was only slightly jealous of this.

Once home, Kevin's real recovery could commence. Kate pampered him endlessly, he tried to resist, but he was still quite immobile so there wasn't much he could do. It took time, but by day seven he was almost back up to full strength. He would never admit it, but Bacta was fantastic, even if it tasted, smelled, and looked revolting.

Chloe and Max visited almost daily. Chloe's recovery was much faster than his, which was odd. He should have been ahead of her by leaps and bounds, but his powers seemed entirely unable to assist him in this regard, no matter how many healing trances he slipped into. Chloe teased him endlessly because of this, as was her custom.

The darkness within him whispered promises in his ears. All he had to do was touch it again and he would be healed. He would become stronger than ever if he just gave in.

_No._

Day eight of his recovery ended in tragedy. He had assured everyone that he was ready to join them on an excursion out of the house. He was wrong. Very wrong. The darkness mocked him.

Only ten minutes into their walk, he had collapsed. Kate wanted to drag him back to the hospital but he adamantly refused. There would be no more Bacta tanks, period. Kate relented, if just barely. She wasn't eager to lose him to the doctors so soon after she had just reclaimed him, so he stayed home and continued to rest.

That night, after dinner, Chloe and Kevin had a quiet conversation while their wives cleared the table and cleaned up in the kitchen. They spoke in hushed voices because they would most certainly get scolded for the subject matter. Rumors were abound concerning fleet movements.

"So, like every ship is taking part in this exercise, like literally every single one?" asked Chloe, her eyebrows shooting up in surprise.

"That's what I heard," Kevin responded, nodding. "Though I seriously doubt the media's claims that it's just an exercise."

"What the hell would they need every ship for? We're totally defenseless without it. You know, except for the energy shields, I guess." Chloe leaned back, biting her lower lip as she contemplated what everything meant. Fortunately for her, she didn't have to think very long, Kevin already had a pretty good idea. He didn't have access to any information that she didn't but he had the Force. There was a distinct tremor in his feelings, a foreboding disturbance that heralded grave tidings.

"Revan found something," Kevin stated flatly, Chloe could only nod.

_But what?_

That was the question. What had Revan found? What would require the entire fleet to be gone for days? Why would misinformation be spread concerning the reason? And why could he not feel his master's suffocating presence in the force any longer?

Several days ago, he had noticed. Not immediately though, which is why he didn't think that his master had died.  _If_  his master died, he expected a gaping whole to be torn in the universe as his dominating presence shattered. That had not happened. It was almost as if his presence had slipped away, like a thief stealing away in the night. Did Revan not want him to know something? If so, why? What would be worth hiding from him?

"What are you too conspiring about?" Max asked as she approached, a mischievous grin plastered on her face.

"Knowing them, fleets, explosions, and excitement." Kate sighed, eyeing her husband knowingly. "Last stands most of all."

"No way, promises, we were talking about kittens, we swear." Chloe responded, a grin rivaling Max's coalesced onto her face. Kevin, not wishing, and entirely unable to mislead Kate anymore, remained silent. Not that it mattered, she knew. She always knew.

"They're talking about this training exercise and they are bummed that they weren't invited." Kate stated proudly. She wrapped her arms around her husband all the same. She knew that the loss of his ship still plagued him, though not as much as the loss of his crew. It probably always would.

"We were invited, we just told them to piss off. We  _are_ on vacation, after all." Chloe was joking, of course. They hadn't even been told about the 'exercise'. And the reason was most likely because they were without a ship, their 'vacation' was simply a convenient way of saying 'left out of the loop'.

"Good." Max said as she snuggled up to her partner. The pair now existed in a state of oneness, the brown-leather armchair easily supported them, with plenty of room to spare.

Kate had loved their house in Luxembourg, but that city was the birthplace of the Treize Faction. Moving was a necessity. Their new house on Alpha Centauri Prime was located on the outskirts of the capitol city, officially named Eden. It was a fitting name, there was a motion for the entire planet to adopt the name, but the bureaucratic government was dragging its heels on the matter.

It didn't really matter what the planet was called, even though the current name bothered Kevin immensely, their new home was perfect. It was smaller than their previous home, much smaller, but had plenty of space for two. As before, the gardens around the home were the real treasure. This time, Kate had created everything. Their quaint, two-floor home was surrounded by naturalistic beauty. Simply perfect.

The living room had ample room and furniture for its current four occupants. Kevin and Kate occupied the wide loveseat while Max and Chloe were being absorbed into its matching chair. The sprawling couch, also part of the set, remained empty. Entirely forgotten, despite its practicality in seating multiple occupants.

The conversation died off as the two couples took solace in the tranquility of the moment. Kevin's anxieties concerning his master and fleet movements were pacified. He was at peace.

The serenity of his peace was shattered by a demanding pounding emanating from the front door. Kate was on her feet in an instant, ready to receive their unexpected guest. She froze, however, when a sudden realization struck her.

"The security system... why didn't it detect anything?" Her uncertain words had Kevin and Chloe on their feet in a flash. Chloe's side-arm was in her hands as she crept towards the door in the adjacent hallway. Meanwhile, Kevin stumbled as a fresh wave of dizziness forced him back to his seat. Kate was upon him at once, her concern mounting.

"I'm fine, really, I just stood up too fast." Kevin tried but his wife adamantly shook her head.

"You're not fine," she turned to Chloe, who had reached the front door, the blue-haired girl's body was rigid with tension. "Chloe, who is it?" Peering out the window, Chloe's eyes went wide with surprise.

"Holy shit! It's Admiral Daala! Natasi Fucking Daala is at the front door!" Similar exclamations of shock were expressed by her companions. Despite her surprise, Chloe holstered her side-arm and opened the door. No sooner had the door been drawn open, Admiral Natasi Daala strode in, her pitch-black uniformed boots thundering beneath her.

Chloe closed the door behind the woman as she marched past her without so much as a look. The fiery haired admiral fixed her bright-green eyes on her target as she advanced. Kevin was locked in her sights. Her expression hard as durasteel, entirely void of emotion, she came to a stop before her objective.

"I need to speak with you, now. Alone." Commanding words shot forth from her mouth. Jaw tense, she delivered her orders without hesitation. Kate took exception to them.

Kate stood and maneuvered herself between her husband and the intruder in their home. She fixed the olive uniformed Natasi with a venomous glare, her hazel eyes shone defiance as her nostrils flared. Chloe instinctively reached for her side-arm, but she possessed the good sense to cut the motion short. Natasi's eyes reacted to the movement anyway, flicking back to Kate in a flash. Admiral Daala now had a new target.

The two women stared each other down as if they were warships preparing to battle. When it became clear that Kate would not back down, Natasi smiled, her full lips twisting into a deadly smirk of approval.

"I like this one. Compliments on your home, Mrs. Anderson." Kate blinked in surprise at the woman's words. She nearly fell over when Natasi spun around and made her way over to the vacant couch. As a predator would settle itself in its roost, Natasi made herself comfortable. It was silent for a long time before anyone dared speak. To everyone's surprise, even Natasi's, Max broke the silence.

"Chloe and I were just leaving, we'll check up on you guys tomorrow." Chloe glared at her partner's words but received a sharp look in return. Chloe immediately relented. It was time to leave.

"A wise choice," Natasi growled as Max and Chloe quickly said their goodbye's. As the two girls were leaving, Natasi sprang to her feet and stalked towards Kevin's ornate liquor cabinet.

"Help yourself." Kevin offered lamely as the woman quickly selected a rather expensive bottle of whiskey.  _The woman has taste, I'll give her that..._ Kevin's thoughts trailed off when Natasi returned from her pillaging with three empty glasses. Kate had earned her right to be part of the conversation.

Kevin and Kate watched as Natasi set the empty glasses down on the oak coffee table that separated them. Less than liberal portions of thirty-year-old Glenfiddich Excellence single-malt scotch whiskey were poured in each glass. The woman's movements were practiced and careful, she even set up coasters before setting each glass down.

Natasi returned to her seat, lounging comfortably as she sampled her beverage methodically. Kevin received a congratulatory nod of approval for his taste.  _I damned well better have._  Kate returned to her seat next to him as he reached for his own glass. Kate seemed entirely uninterested in her beverage, her eyes remained fixed on the intruder.

Without warning, Natasi's demeanor changed dramatically. Her shoulders slumped, her predatory smile vanished, her hard eyes softened as a broken look of exhaustion erupted on her face. The woman downed the remnants of her glass in a single, swift motion. Her thick, red hair cascading around her shoulders, dazzling her audience. Grimacing as she swallowed the contents of her glass, she cast a pleading look of despair at her hosts as she set down her empty glass.

Whatever she was about to say, whatever news she had, it was bad. Kate snatched up her glass and drank.

 

* * *

 

_Rachel!_  Chloe burst from her terror-laden nightmare back into the realm of the conscious world. It was dark, too dark. Suffocating dark. As a child would, she rushed to vanquish the miserable blackness. As she reached for the lamp next to the bed, she froze. Drenched in sweat, she braced herself against her thrashing heart as she listened to Max's rhythmical breathing.  _Holy shit, I didn't wake her this time._

Almost every night since the battle, she woke up screaming. Luckily, as far as she knew, she hadn't cried out Rachel's name. A small miracle. Almost all of her nightmares revolved around Rachel.

Tonight, she had watched in terror as Mark Jefferson killed her former love. She had screamed and struggled, but she found herself glued to the couch in Jefferson's 'dark room'. Chloe remembered every inch of that room. It was hard to forget the last place that Rachel had been alive. No matter what she tried, she was forced to watch that monster brutalize Rachel. Shaking her head vigorously, she tried desperately to banish the images from her mind.

Chloe stole out of bed in a well-practiced maneuver. Years ago, she had perfected the art of sneaking out of bed. That was when she had been obsessed with the chaos of the world, those days were gone. Despite this, her adeptness for stealthily extracting herself from Max's arms and the covers came in handy.

Before leaving the bedroom, Chloe snatched a worn shoe-box from underneath the bed. A quick trip to the bathroom to wash away her tears and sweat was necessary before she settled herself down on the comfy couch in their family room. The house was warm, it always was, it was rarely cold on Alpha Centauri Prime. The planet was awesome. The warm air offered her shivering form no solace though, she was freezing, even wrapped in a thick-fluffy housecoat.

It was Max's, of course.

Burrowing under a mountain of blankets, Chloe reverently removed the lid from the shoebox. This was her shrine to Rachel. It was all she had left. Max knew about it, it wasn't really a big secret.

Inside were several dozen mementos of her all-too short time that she had spent with her first love. Pictures, concert tickets, notes, and a few other sacred artifacts were haphazardly strewn inside the old cardboard box. Reaching in, Chloe removed her favorite picture. A thick crease shot straight down the photograph, separating the two girls. To her, this line was the boundary of life and death. Rachel, looking beautiful and determined on one side, while Chloe flipped off the camera in defiance on the other.

_I couldn't just smile and let her have a nice moment, goddamnit._

_Rachel..._

As she stared longingly at the picture, something strange happened. Rachel's carefree giggle tickled her ears as a scent of jasmine enchanted her nostrils. Chloe knew what was happening. She was slipping into the past. Gripping the photograph tighter, she resisted for one final moment before giving herself over to the overwhelming sensation completely.

The world around Chloe bent and broke. She was no longer on her couch, huddled in blankets. She was now shoulder to shoulder with someone as a camera flashed, briefly blinding her. Blinking, Chloe turned and gasped.

Birds sang, a slight breeze whispered its soft words, and the sun shone down its comforting rays, this did little to calm Chloe. It felt as if she had been kicked in her chest, twice, maybe three times. Her entire body bellowed in shock, crippling her. None of that mattered though, Rachel was beside her, smiling.

"Rachel?"

 

* * *

 

 

_ Present Day _

****"How am I calmer about all this than you are?" Max was handling the situation that had been thrust upon them with incredible ease. He, however, was not. It had turned out that the child hadn't been hungry either. If Kevin had to guess, the child had simply detected their distress and become agitated himself. Perhaps it had even felt the effects of the hole that had been torn in time and space when the world had changed before its eyes.

"How are you  _not_  freaking out right now?" retorted Kevin. Her question entirely unanswered, Max simply shrugged. The infant in her arms stared at him accusingly, it was as if it were telling him to relax, which didn't help.

"We aren't going to figure this out by panicking. You're supposed to be this super-powerful Jedi, right? Maybe you should meditate for a bit or whatever it is that you do." Despite her mockery and the infant's intense stare, he somehow managed to find some semblance of calm within his roiling mind.

"You're right..."

"See look William, your daddy isn't that scary." The child giggled, turning its chubby face back towards its mother.

"Max..."

"Relax, I'm only messing with you. Poor little guy. Do you think he's really ours?"

"All of the evidence would suggest that is exactly what he is. Did Chloe warn you about this at all?" Max shook her head, casting a sad look toward the ground. Immediately overwhelmed with an intense sensation of guilt, he regretted his question almost as much as his earlier reaction to the situation. They had been unexpectedly cast into a new timeline because of what Chloe had done. Of course this was distressing to Max, she had just been hiding her feelings concerning the matter.

"Why would she change everything like this, without even telling me? Was it something that I did? I thought we were happy." Little William immediately caught onto his mother's deteriorating state, pawing at her face with a grubby hand. His tiny fingers came to rest on her cheek just as a lone tear escaped from her left eye. The infants' motion seemed only to upset Max more, clinging desperately to the child, Max's grief slowly overwhelmed her.

Increasingly distressed, William turned to Kevin, imploring him to do something. Intense feelings of shame weighed heavily down upon him, but despite his burden, he forced himself into action. As Max slowly crumpled onto the kitchen's cold tiled floor, Kevin wrapped his arms around her, doing what he could to comfort his new family.

"Max, if Chloe did do this, I'm sure that she didn't mean to change everything. She is probably freaking out right now, just like we are." Encouraged by his words, or perhaps by his presence, Max's grief began to relent. Kevin was grimly certain that Chloe had changed the past. Even though they had yet to speak about it, he was sure that they both knew exactly what Chloe had changed. Rachel, she had gone back for Rachel.

The precious moment of a family, suddenly thrown together, taking comfort in each other's existence, was ruined by an obnoxious alert. The alert was emanating from a small, seemingly portable, holographic transponder, located on the kitchen's central island counter. Kevin grasped the offending device with every intention of hurtling it across the room. However, he stopped himself as he noticed exactly who was calling him.

Revan.

Kevin had to remind himself that this was a new timeline. In the old timeline, Revan had vanished. Thinking back to his encounter with Admiral Natasi Daala sent shivers down his spine.  _Why would Revan disappear like that?_ It didn't make any sense. If the powerful Sith Lord would tell anyone of his plans, it would have been Natasi Daala.

But that had happened in the past... sort of. Revan was still here, still his master. And When your master calls, you had best answer. Luckily, if anyone could sort through this conundrum, it would be him. Answering the summons, he placed the transponder on the floor in front of him as he continued to comfort his family.

A miniature image of Revan's likeness materialized from the device, his masked face hidden even further by a thick dark cloak. Even though it was impossible to tell, Kevin was sure that underneath the cloak Revan would be wearing his new and improved combat armor, he hadn't been seen in anything else since his recovery. Dismissing the scene that had appeared before him with an annoyed sigh, or perhaps that was just his modulated breathing, it was hard to tell, Revan began to speak.

"I felt a... disturbance in the force. It appears my feelings do not yet betray me." William shrank away from the image, clearly bothered by the man's grating speech. Clinging to his mother, he hid his face, burrowing into her as best he could. "Remain exactly where you are, do not speak to anyone, do not leave your house, do nothing. I am on my way." The transmission ended with a sudden burst of static.

Consumed by sudden relief that Revan was rushing to assist them, Kevin's worries still feverishly clung to him.  _How the hell are we going to sort this mess out?_

 

* * *

 

Barely had Revan stormed into their house and he was already making demands. However, not the demands Kevin would have expected. The man's aura seemed darker than he remembered, more troubled, more sinister. The experience of being in the man's presence once again was almost suffocating.

"Where is the child?" Speechless, Kevin led his master deeper into the house and into the family room where, seated on the couch, Max was playing with William. Whatever game that they had been playing immediately ceased, little William sought his mother's protection from the wraith that had entered into their home.

Revan stood there, motionless as he observed the cowering child. Max, to her credit, returned the masked man's gaze with a fiercely determined look, ready to protect her child. A guttural noise crept through his voice-modulator, something similar to a scoff. Apparently offended, Max's expression hardened. Encouraged by his mother's defiance, William slowly turned to face his fears.

"A pity. The child is quite strong in the Force."

"A pity?"

"You must realize that when we repair the damage that has been done to our timeline, that child will cease to exist."

"Assuming we can figure out what threw everything into chaos and fix it responsibly enough so we don't create an entirely new timeline that could be worse off than this one." Max's response was well thought out, her past experiences in manipulating the past, present, and future had hardened her into an impressive woman. However, Kevin took notice of how Max had deflected Revan's comment. Revan would have noticed as well.

"Indeed." Revan's modulated voice trailed off as he slowly paced around the room, his thick black cloak gliding just above the hardwood floors as his boots noisily sent echoes through the rest of the building.

"Master, we have a few theories concerning the situation, but if you have any of your own... we would be interested in hearing them." Referring to such a man as 'master' still didn't sit well with Kevin, but if he were to have a master, it might as well be the most powerful, terrifying man that he knew of.

"Theories? I have something better. I have a plan."

Revan, refusing to take a seat, continued to pace as he laid out his plan. It was obvious to him, as it was obvious to Kevin and Max, that Chloe had caused the new timeline to be created. He had done some research during his journey to their home. He had been in orbit aboard the  _Night Hammer_ , the trip hadn't taken long at all.

During his research, he had discovered a few discrepancies, some of them more obvious than the others. Mostly, the major events in the timeline had remained, more or less, the same. The Earth had been attacked but the invaders had been repelled. In the aftermath of the invasion Treize Kushrenada had reformed the Earth's competing governments into a single, coherent body. Just as before, he had immediately ceded power.

However, following the aftermath, Kevin had resigned his post of commander, declining a promotion as well. His new wife, Maxine Anderson had given birth to their first child, his life of war was to become a memory. According to his research, Kevin and Max had been together since they graduated Blackwell Academy, this fact was quite surprising.

Going back even further, it seemed, that Max had returned to her hometown of Arcadia Bay to discover that her best friend was gone, apparently having left in the company of a now very famous actress, Rachel Amber. The pair were still together and were well known trouble-makers in Hollywood. His words cut into Max with unmerciful force, like a searing hot blade would slice into butter. William, sensing his mother's sadness, began to blubber himself.

Kevin could hear Max's innermost thoughts as if they were his own.  _If Rachel had lived... Chloe would have left my life, without looking back. Abandoning me just like I abandoned her when she needed me most._  Sensing her son's mounting distress, she cast the miserable thoughts from her mind, visibly shaking as she did so. Taking comfort in one irrefutable fact, she comforted her son. Her Chloe was now in this timeline, and she definitely would never forget about her. Of this, there was no doubt in her mind at all.

Interrupting his master when he began to inform them of Kate's whereabouts, Kevin asked him what the plan was. He didn't want to hear anything about Kate at the moment, all he cared about was cleaning up Chloe's mess. The sooner the better.

Over the years Kevin's senses had become quite attuned to Kate's presence. This familiarity persisted. He could sense her, seemingly far away, her happiness was as heartwarming as it was heartbreaking. Worse, he had gained a familiarity with Max. He liked Max, she was a good friend. However, knowing her thoughts and senses as intimately as he did his own made him uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable.

"You two will head to Earth, to Chloe's home in Los Angeles, transport will be provided as well as a few personnel who are entirely loyal to me. You will collect her, using whatever methods necessary and bring her to the Boston headquarters of Massive Dynamic, owned by our old friend Walter Bishop. I will await you there." The next phase of the plan was obvious, once everyone had gathered, with the help of Doctor Bishop and his team, Chloe would be sent back into the past to correct the timeline, for everyone's sake.


	4. Amber

Their shuttle was directed to a private shuttle port on the outskirts of a very well-off neighborhood. Each house was the size of a castle, some actually were castles. Kevin was blown away by the massive display of wealth. His former house in Luxembourg had been a jewel of its own; it had been large, spacious, plenty of land… but it paled in comparison to these monstrosities.

Eager to get underway, Kevin was the first to head for the boarding ramp.

“Not so fast, chief, gotta’ get you dressed up all nice-like before we go crashing any parties in this neighborhood.” Gerrard’s words stopped him in his tracks as the rear boarding ramp extended before him. A blast of warm air flooded into the ship, battling the cool, recycled air within for supremacy. Canderous kicked over a black duffel-bag that came skidding to a halt at Kevin’s feet.

Peering inside, Kevin grimaced.

“Fucking olive,” he grumbled as he recognized the Imperial officer’s uniform for what it was. “Why can’t I get a slick black uniform like you three?” Gerrard shrugged.

“Somebody has to play the officer, or else we just look like secret police.” The bearded man flashed Kevin a prize-winning smile, his blue eyes flashing in amusement. “And what luck! You’re an officer! Retired, but still an officer.”

Sighing, Kevin snatched the hideous olive jacket from the bag and held it out before him. His disappointment turned to joy when he noticed how small the uniform was.

“There’s no way that _this_ is fitting me.” Kevin’s relief turned to dread as Gerrard’s smile widened.

“The top one is for the lady, yours is underneath. Don’t worry, it’ll fit you just fine.” Gerrard mocked. Max, still seated with William, eyed her uniform skeptically.

“Is it really necessary for me to play Imperial cosplay as well?” She asked, raising an eyebrow in Gerrard’s direction. The man shrugged again. “You guys sure are thorough, I guess.”

“You’re god damned right we are.” Canderous growled happily. His face paled, however, when Max fixed him with a dire look of warning. Her soft, freckled face transforming into a menacing glare.

“Watch your mouth around my son.” William giggled at his mother’s fierce display, or perhaps at how cowed Canderous was, it was hard to tell. Canderous made a hasty exit from the craft, quickly followed by a smiling Gerrard and a blank faced Hans. As he descended the ramp, Hans turned to Kevin, his expression hard.

“I’ll arrange transport. The pilots will stay with the ship. Expect us to be ready to roll out in five minutes, sir.” With a final nod Hans departed, leaving Max and Kevin alone in the ship. It was quickly becoming hot inside the craft, and Kevin hadn’t even changed into his dreaded olive uniform.

_This is going to suck._

Max interrupted his lamenting thoughts and nodded for him to change first. She averted her eyes and focused on her son, but Kevin still felt incredibly awkward about changing in front of her.

_Just get it over with, I’ve pretty much already seen you naked._ Max’s thoughts echoed through his mind once again. Their connection was becoming all too familiar.

_Get out of my head, woman._ Kevin shot back, wondering for the first time if she could hear his thoughts as intimately as he could hear hers. It seemed not. Max ignored him entirely.

It didn’t take long to change; the Imperial officer’s uniform wasn’t much of a fuss to put on. Black boots, black belt, black gloves, everything else olive. As he secured his matching officer’s hat atop his head, he scowled at nothing in particular. He didn’t need a mirror, he knew he looked ridiculous.

“Look at daddy William, doesn’t he look silly?” teased Max. William giggled, of course he did. “Alright, I guess it’s my turn, take him with you while I change.”

Max stood, holding William out toward him. The child reached out with its little arms, swallowing him whole with its emerald-green eyes. Kevin hesitated, this wasn’t _his_ child. And yet, a version of him was its father. Did the child know? Could its feeble mind understand? Max cleared her throat impatiently; her slim arms shaking from the effort.

Kevin accepted the child, holding it awkwardly at first. _Have I ever held a child before? Is this right? Why is she looking at me like that?_ Max’s face was practically glowing as she regarded her family. The moment passed, and Max shooed him from the ship, hurrying to change.

Once outside, the true intensity of the heat assaulted him. It was probably just another beautiful summer day in California. However, to Kevin, someone who had spent most of his recent time aboard climate-controlled space-craft, the heat was unforgiving. The thick layered uniform didn’t help the situation. Kevin sought shelter in the shade of their shuttle but found little reprieve, the tarmac radiated heat just as much as the blazing sun.

Kevin didn’t know how long he waited, suffering in the heat. He did know that it was longer than five minutes, much longer. When Max finally came down the boarding ramp, he was overwhelmed by an entirely different sensation. Sweat beaded down the side of his face as he stared in awe at the uniformed woman that descended to meet him.

She wore the exact same uniform as he did, she just wore it better. So much better. She had even secured her brown hair behind her head in an efficient bun, playing the role perfectly. Hands clasped behind her back, she completed her descent. Max was desperately trying to keep her face straight, but a devious smile kept hampering her efforts. Kevin handed William back to his triumphant looking mother. As he did so, Hans and company appeared from three directions at once.

No words were needed, Kevin could tell without the aid of the Force that the three men were enchanted by Max. After a few moments of staring, and some blushing on Max’s part, the three men saluted. Kevin returned the gesture with practiced efficiency while Max did her best to mimic his movements. William giggled. It was time to go. It was time to get out of the insufferable heat.

 

* * *

 

Two seemingly brand-new vehicles were chauffeured out to them. Kevin grimaced, the two vehicles were not identical. Convoys should _always_ be identical, wasn’t that an unwritten rule somewhere? They weren’t even the same color. One was black, while the other was a shade of dark blue. Both vehicles were extravagant luxury sedans, the continuous display of wealth was lost on Kevin. All he cared about was the air-conditioning.

Hans and Gerrard boarded the blue Mercedes, with Gerrard at the wheel. The black BMW was left for Canderous to drive. Kevin rode shotgun while Max secured herself and William in the rear seats. A child seat had even been provided for little William, the staff had been very accommodating. The drive to their destination wasn’t supposed to be a long one, but distance wasn’t the party’s only adversary.

Three separate security gates barred their path. Each one more fortified than its predecessor. The illusion of security was shattered, however, by the elegantly uniformed security forces manning the barricades. These were no soldiers, they barely even passed for mall-cops. The theatrics were entirely for show, these men and women weren’t expected to resist any form of enemy. Security like this had one job: keep out the tourists. Kevin and his men weren’t tourists, not even close.

The first two gates were navigated with ease. The mere presence of uniformed soldiers, Imperial ones at that, had the security forces scrambling out of the way. The third gate, however, was manned by men and women with spines.

“I’m sorry, sir, but you are not on the list. If you are not on the list… no entry.” The man’s voice was firm, but his eyes betrayed his nervousness. Five other guards were present, each tense, their anxiety as palpable as the summer heat. 

“That’s right, only people on the list are allowed in. You’re going to have to turn it around, pal.” A second guard confirmed, her resolve steadfast. Canderous was quickly losing his patience.

“I ain’t your pal, your buddy, or your blasted guy, you fuckin’ amateur. Let us in before I—” Kevin silenced Canderous as he cleared his throat, entering into the conversation for the first time. Leaning over, Kevin spoke, emphasizing his words calmly, reassuring the tense man as if he were a scared child.

“Please, check again. I’m sure you will see that you are mistaken.” With a flourish of his hand, and a nudge with the Force, Kevin made the man see what he needed him to see. The security guard stared at his clipboard in confusion for a moment, referenced his data pad, only to double-check his clip-board. Finally, turning back to face Kevin, face flushing in embarrassment, the man fumbled for words.

“I’m sorry, sir, my apologies, I don’t know how I missed that.” The guard turned to his compatriots, signaling them to open the gate. “Alright, sir, you may proceed, but only your vehicle, the others aren’t on the list.” _For fuck’s sake…_ _why do you have to be stubborn?_

Kevin reached out, fully giving himself over to the Force. He invaded the man’s mind, bending it to his will.

“Check again, please.” The guard was so entirely under his influence that he didn’t even notice how much Kevin was struggling with his powers. Kevin was good at bending the force for telekinesis, better yet using it to empower his reflexes and combat prowess. However, he had never really gotten the hang of influencing others with it. He preferred a more direct approach.

“Forgive me, sir! Please, don’t let me hold you up any longer!” The man hurriedly turned to his staff once again, his face white with panic. “Open the damn gates! Quick!”

Exhaling with fatigue, Kevin slumped into his comfortable leather seat, sweating despite the cool temperature inside the vehicle. The route to their objective was now clear.

“You okay, boss?” asked Canderous, his voice quiet, face lit with awe.

“I’m fine,” Kevin lied, “Just hot, that’s all.” Canderous fiddled with the vehicle’s climate controls and soon the air-conditioning was blasting at full force. As the refreshingly cool air slammed against Kevin’s perspiring skin, William gurgled happily from his safety-seat.

Canderous had called _him ‘_ boss’.

           

* * *

 

 

The small convoy reached their objective a few minutes later, the house was massive. Entirely too big for just two people, Kevin decided that the elegant monstrosity before him was not a house. It was a damned mansion. The building was an engineering marvel to behold. The structure and the landscaping surrounding it were all designed to enchant the mortals that were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of its majesty. Kevin saw through the mysticism without difficulty, Gerrard wasn’t impressed either.

“What a waste of space…” the bearded man scoffed as he exited his vehicle.

“I like it,” Canderous countered. A sly, toothy smile blossoming onto his hard face. No matter how the man smiled, he always appeared menacing.

“You’re only saying that because I don’t,” sighed Gerrard.

“Maybe.” The hulking man shrugged, all too pleased with himself.

Hans snapped his fingers, bringing his companions’ bickering to a sudden halt. Their attention now on him, he quickly directed them to proceed towards the house. Gerrard flanked left while Canderous meandered to the right. Hans led the way straight up the center with Max and Kevin close behind him. As the party navigated their way around a pretentious, marble fountain, Max stopped in her tracks.

“I’ll wait in the car,” she stated hesitantly.

Her eyes were locked on the front door of the house, as if it were a menacing demon, waiting to devour her whole. Kevin did his best to shield himself from her thoughts as she retreated. She was terrified at the prospect of Chloe and Rachel answering the door together, she wasn’t ready to see that. Kevin could have argued, could have reassured her that her fears were unwarranted. He didn’t though. Kevin didn’t want to be wrong.

As Max retreated, Kevin and Hans pressed forward, flanked by Gerrard and Canderous. Their polished boots pounding on the marble beneath their feet. Kevin fidgeted with his collar, the damned thing kept biting into his neck. Ignoring the lavish display of landscaping, Kevin’s thoughts turned inward as their journey came to an end.

_What if Chloe doesn’t want to come with us? What are we supposed to do? We can’t just blast her with a stun bolt and haul her off, can we?_ Hans didn’t give him a chance to sort out his thoughts. As soon as he reached the front door, he began pounding on it. The maneuver was entirely unnecessary. Most residences were equipped with security systems that would announce the arrival of anyone setting foot on the property, especially one such as this.

In spite of Hans’s insistent pounding, or perhaps because of it, the four men waited. Luckily the front door was shaded from the relentless sun, though, this did little to bring Kevin respite from the heat.

The four men stood in silence, sweating, refusing to utilize any of the furniture arrayed around the front door. Anything they said was likely to be overheard by the security system, so they kept their words to themselves. Except for Canderous.

“Man, how long are we supposed to wait?” he asked, leaning leisurely against one of the many Roman columns that spanned the area around the front patio. Gerrard sighed.

“It’s a big house, probably takes a week to get from one end to the other. Or maybe nobody’s home?” Gerrard’s words had little effect on Canderous, but before the big man could respond, Hans interjected.

“It’s a tactic. She wants us impatient and unsteady. She wants the advantage when that door opens.” As usual, Hans’s voice was void of emotion. He stated everything in a monotone, matter-of-fact manner.

“She?” Canderous balked. As if on cue, the door’s locking mechanisms released and it swung open. Standing in the now open doorway was the most beautiful woman on the planet, she had to be. Kevin was immediately put under her spell, he felt certain that the woman before him was _the one_. He would slug anyone who said otherwise.

_What?_

Kevin banished the thought from his mind. Kate was his. Not in this reality, but he knew that she was his and his alone. Despite this certainty, he felt contradictory thoughts creeping their way back into his mind.

_How?_

Before he could stop himself, he began to admire the woman before him. Her house may be an extravagant display of wealth, but her clothing was not. Her smile was warm and inviting. Hazel eyes that reminded him of Kate’s flicked back and forth between the uniformed men at her door.

“Ms. Amber?” Hans asked flatly, entirely unimpressed.

“Mrs. Amberprice.” Rachel corrected him, fire creeping into her voice.

_Amberprice? Really? They changed their name to Amberprice?_

Canderous cleared his throat and launched from his perch, bringing himself to his full height.

“I’m more of a…” the big man paused, his face scrunched hideously in thought. “Price…field? Yeah, Pricefield kinda’ guy.”

_God… damnit._

Canderous’s comment brought everything to a screeching halt, even Hans let out a sigh of displeasure. Fortunately, the confusion snapped Kevin out of his stupor. His thoughts were his again. He was no longer intoxicated by the woman before him.

“Canderous, please, don’t speak again.” Kevin ordered with an embarrassed groan.

“Like, ever?” Despite the direction of the conversation, the brute of a man seemed all too pleased with himself.

“That would be preferable, I think.” Kevin responded. Oddly enough, Canderous’s amusement only intensified.

“Yes, boss.” Still chuckling, Canderous folded his thick arms across his chest and returned to his perch against the Roman column.

“Can I help you?” Rachel asked, entirely unamused.

“We have business with Chloe.” Hans struck back, his emotionless stare bearing down on the woman once more. She refused to be intimidated.

“Business, huh? Well that’s too bad, she isn’t here.” Rachel stated, her smile blossoming on her face once more as she caught onto Kevin’s frustration. “I’m sorry boys, but your princess is in another castle.”

Seeing that they were getting nowhere fast, Kevin allowed Hans to continue pressing the woman for information on Chloe’s whereabouts. Rachel wouldn’t tell them, Kevin was certain of this. However, her mind would. Kevin gave himself over to the Force and focused, he would need all of his strength to navigate through the woman’s illusive thoughts; he wasn’t the best at this sort of thing.

Kevin plunged into her mind and found something entirely unexpected. A barrier blocked his way. Confused and surprised, he attempted to force his way through. This was a mistake.

_hat the fuck was that?_

Dazed and confused, Kevin shook his head. He was no longer at the front door of the building. Groaning in pain, he dragged himself out of the marble fountain, entirely soaked. As he crawled out of the refreshingly cool water he slowly came to understand what had just happened.

Rachel had responded to his intrusion of her mind by throwing him like a rag-doll. She was force sensitive. She was strong in the Force, very strong. She was untrained and probably entirely unaware of the power that she possessed, but her power was like nothing he had ever felt before.

Shaking his head in amazement, Kevin was dumbfounded. _How could I have been so blind?_ Like a fool, he had mistaken his attraction to the woman for lust. He had felt like he had wanted her, more than anything. But that wasn’t quite right. He had felt her power, been intoxicated by it, enlightened by it, reassured by it.

Kevin had only ever been in the presence of two other Force users, Revan and the Empress of Hirosh. His master’s aura was menacing and suffocating. Darkness plagued the man like a second shadow. The empress, was similar to Revan, yet different. It was hard to explain. Being in her presence was chilling and comforting all at once. There was a darkness in the woman for sure, but it was contained, controlled, yet no less terrifying.

 Rachel was different. She shone with light. For the first time in his life, Kevin knew for certain that his powers could lead to something incredible. Darkness wasn’t his only path, there was also light.

Gerrard was suddenly at his side, helping Kevin to his feet.

“Holy shit, are you okay?” Gerrard’s eyes were wide with surprise. The man was on full alert, eyes scanning the area for threats. Kevin waved off the man’s concerns, but he stopped in his tracks when his eyes caught sight of Gerrard’s drawn sidearm. His heart was instantly filled with dread.

“Please tell me that—”

“Candy shot her. Stun bolt, square in the chest.” Gerrard growled disapprovingly, casting an angry glare back towards the house where Hans and Canderous were dragging an unconscious Rachel into the house.

_Fucking shit!_

Kevin was inside the house in seconds. Still entirely drenched and tracking puddles of water, he let loose his rage on Canderous.

“You idiot! What were you thinking?”

“What? The bitch sent you flying! She turned to look at me all innocent-like, but you can’t fool me. I knew she did it. So, I blasted her! Put her down real quick. She ain’t sending me flying! Hell no.”

“I’ll send you flying the next time you do something like that! Understand?” Kevin couldn’t find any fault in the man’s logic. However, you just couldn’t go around blasting people. Hopefully no one had seen or heard the shot. Things could get really dicey if anyone had.

“Yes, boss. I understand.” Despite his dressing down, Canderous still seemed entirely too pleased with himself.

Kevin looked around the house’s foyer. The house was eerily quiet. Had Rachel been telling them the truth? Was Chloe really not home? Normally he would have known if someone had been deceiving him, but, he was so off balance concerning Rachel’s force sensitivity that he might have missed it.

A search was ordered. While Hans, Gerrard, and Canderous spread out to investigate the depths of the massive building, Kevin levitated Rachel’s unconscious form to a couch in the adjacent room. Rachel’s comfort seen to, he contacted Max and told her to come inside. Should the worse happen, he wanted everyone close by. Especially Max and William.

Max made the journey from the vehicles to the foyer in less than a minute. Hesitantly poking her head inside, she froze when her eyes took everything in. Her eyes went from the unconscious Rachel and back to the still soaking-wet Kevin several times before she was able to form words. William was putting on a brave face, but Kevin easily saw how distressed the child was. _He must have sensed whatever happened to me through the Force, poor kid._

“What the hell happened?” Max finally blurted out.

 

* * *

 

Max was caught up to speed. As Kevin finished his explanation of the events that had transpired, Hans and company finished their search of the house. It was empty.

“So… Rachel is a space-wizard like you and the boss, huh?” Canderous interrupted as he lumbered towards Kevin and Max. Before Kevin could answer, he was forced to catch a towel that was tossed his way. It was blue, fluffy, and massive, just what he needed. Nodding in thanks to Canderous, Kevin turned back to Max.

“…And she had no idea?” asked Max, her eyes locked onto the unconscious Rachel. Kevin shook his head as he began to wipe himself down.

“She might have _some_ awareness of her latent abilities, but nothing concrete. To her, she’s probably just different from everyone else. Maybe even better.” Kevin shrugged as he finished. _He_ had certainly thought both about himself before he knew about his abilities. Certainly not like Rachel Amber though. She catapulted herself into the highest social classes, enchanting all those around her. Kevin, on the other hand, had withdrawn, seeking comfort in solitude. But that was a long time ago.

Hans and Gerrard began a search for clues concerning Chloe’s whereabouts while Canderous guarded the front door like a monstrous gargoyle.

“Should we wake her up?” Max asked the obvious question. Despite his overwhelming desire to speak with Rachel, Kevin felt it better to leave the woman unconscious. For now, at least. There would be plenty of time later for questions.

“Perhaps once we find Chloe and bring them both to a secure location.” Kevin responded. Max seemed as if she were about to argue, but when she turned to him she held back. The conflict brewing within him was far too noticeable.

Despite Rachel’s unconsciousness, Kevin could still feel her mind reaching out to him, comforting him. In any other circumstance, he would have found this odd. Not now though, not with Rachel.

Her presence in the Force was pure. It was all Kevin could do not to give himself over to it entirely. William, however, was basking in it. Not moments ago, the child had been relentlessly fussing over everything, refusing to be settled. Now, paradoxically, he was entirely at peace. Nap time was inevitable. _The Kid’s had a big day, hell, we all have._

In a moment the illusion of peace was shattered as Kevin’s danger senses flared to life. Someone was at the door. Canderous was nowhere in sight. Kevin lost valuable time readying himself as he frantically gestured for Max to get William to safety. Max complied immediately but froze in place as the door swung open.

“Max?” An all-too familiar voice called from the open doorway. Kevin refused to relax though, his danger senses were still blaring. Blaster in hand, Kevin moved towards Chloe, signaling for her to get inside. He was too late.

Chloe hit the floor hard as a burst of energy struck her in the back. Max screamed and William wailed. Hans and Gerrard were on the scene moments later, weapons at the ready. The pair relaxed, however, when the attacker filled the open doorway. It was Canderous.

“Got her, boss!” The man’s toothy grin spread from ear to ear, doing little to improve his unsightly complexion.

_Son of a bitch…_

“Well,” Kevin exhaled a calming breath, forcing the frustration out of his voice, “I guess we _could_ just blast them both and haul them off, why not, eh?”

“You’re God damned right boss.” Canderous responded, beaming with pride.

“He was being sarcastic, you moron,” growled Gerrard as he holstered his sidearm.

“It would be prudent to exfiltrate ourselves from the area before Canderous shoots anyone else. Don’t you agree, sir?” Hans asked in a detached tone. It was brief, almost imperceptible, but Kevin noticed a small smile grace Hans’s lips.

The man had just made a joke.

_Miracles do happen, I suppose._

“Let’s get the hell out of here, and Canderous, if you shoot anyone else I’m going to blast you myself. No stun for you either, you understand?” Kevin’s tone, devoid of humor, caught his audience off-balance. Shifting uneasily for a moment, Canderous nodded. The man’s unsettling grin hadn’t abated. There was a distinct possibility that Kevin might end up shooting the man before the day was over.

 

* * *

 

Getting back to the ship should have been an easy task, but it wasn’t. The presence of two unconscious women complicated matters. Rachel Amber was quite recognizable it turned out. By the time all three checkpoints were cleared, Kevin was on the verge of exhaustion. Never before had he been forced to bend so many minds to his will.

_Never again…_

Not only did the experience leave him sweating and verging on collapse, but he felt empty. Invading another being’s mind was not a pleasant experience, for either party. Awash with guilt, Kevin forced himself to believe that what he had done had been entirely necessary. Canderous would have preferred to shoot his way back to the ship after all.

If the party was successful in their endeavors, this timeline would cease being relevant to them. That being so, Kevin wanted to avoid the wanton slaughter of innocents if he could.

Back aboard the ship, helped to a seat by Gerrard and Hans, Kevin collapsed in a heap of relief and fatigue. Max hovered over him worriedly while William was uncharacteristically silent. The child seemed just as tired as his father. Father and son were fast asleep long before the shuttle was underway to Massive Dynamic on the other side of the country.

Kevin dreamed of Kate, but not his Kate.

Kate was happy with her family in this new reality. Her happiness warmed his soul just as it sent daggers piercing through his heart.

He wanted her back. They had to change things. Chloe had to fix what she had broken.

 

* * *

 

“We have got to stop meeting like this, Agent Dunham.” Olivia flashed one of her awkward smiles at Kevin’s greeting. Kevin’s senses told him that her half-hearted smile mirrored the woman’s feelings. She was always happy to see Kevin and company, but the circumstances could have been better. Much better.

“Your friend Revan has already briefed us on what happened. The sooner we get to work, the better.” Olivia’s response was as professional and straightforward as ever. She was still just as driven and focused as Kevin remembered. The continuity was refreshing.

“I guess Chloe’s journey through time messed things up more than usual, eh?” Kevin shot back, nearly dreading Olivia’s answer.

“Let’s just say that Walter is… eager to sort everything out. We all are.” The blonde woman’s smile slipped for a moment, though her green eyes revealed nothing. The effects of Chloe’s actions had cast a wide net.

_Wonderful, what else is different? I guess I’ll find out soon enough_. Kevin felt that it was best not to ask anything further. If Olivia felt like he needed to know, she would have told him.

Kevin stepped off the rear boarding ramp of the shuttle and steadied himself as a fierce gust of wind assaulted him. The helipad atop of the towering structure was barely big enough to support the shuttle, but the talented pilots had managed the landing with practiced ease.

As Max descended from the shuttle, Olivia’s eyes went straight to the sleeping child in her arms. A question seemed to be forming on the federal agent’s lips, but it soon vanished. Max cast a nervous glance towards Kevin as he quickly inspected the sleeping child. One or both of the hasty movements gave Olivia all the information that she needed. Her smile returned, a real smile this time.

Olivia had appeared with an entourage of unformed techs and medical personnel. Once the path to the shuttle was clear, and with Olivia’s blessing, they swarmed aboard. Moments later they exited the craft, the still unconscious forms of Rachel and Chloe secured on medical gurneys. Max hadn’t wanted for Chloe to be kept unconscious, but forcibly bringing someone out of stun wasn’t pretty. It was best to not to be on a moving shuttle for the event, no matter how smooth the ride was.

Shuddering as he remembered his own experiences of being stunned, Kevin followed the gaggle of personnel deeper inside the high-tech facility. Hans, Canderous, and Gerrard were close behind, their usual banter subdued as they analyzed their surroundings. Max hung in the rear, but the three uniformed soldiers soon formed a protective formation around her and the precious cargo she carried.

The hallways were bright and polished, mostly devoid of staff. The few people that they did encounter wore blank expressions. Entirely uninterested in the visitors, the staff passed them by. _These people have seen weirder things than a procession of soldiers escorting two unconscious women before… what the hell goes on here?_

Unable to resist his curiosity, Kevin had done a small amount of research on Massive Dynamic before they had arrived. The technology company was on the forefront of everything it seemed. Most of their projects were heavily classified, but plenty of technology for the Earth’s growing naval forces could be traced back to Massive Dynamic.

None of this surprised Kevin. Walter was the head of the company, after-all. Kevin really wanted to hear the story of how that had happened.

After descending dozens of levels, the party finally arrived at a spacious, high-tech laboratory. Rachel and Chloe were rolled in and the staff exited the room without so much of a word. Inside the impressively stocked lab was a single occupant. Kevin immediately recognized the man, even though he was more aggravated than he had ever been before.

“Was nothing learned the last time you three almost destroyed the fabric of the universe? Why must we go through this again and again? There are lines that must not be crossed! And yet, despite my constant warnings, you cross them again and again!” Walter Bishop, the mad scientist, was furious. His anger, however, vanished as the bundle in Max’s arms began to wail.

_Damnit…_

“It’s always a pleasure, Doctor Bishop…” grumbled Kevin as he turned to assist Max in calming their son. The enraged man transformed into a meek, apologetic mess of concern. William’s cries ravaged the man, unsteadying him with each successive attack.

“I’m terribly sorry, I didn’t know that the two of you had a child!” Once again, Walter’s entire attitude changed. He now wore an intense and thoughtful expression as he regarded the recovering infant. “Of course, I should have known! The two of you seem to seek each other out every time our reality is thrown into a blender. Interesting, very interesting. It’s almost as if the two of you are drawn to each other—”

_The only person I am drawn to is Kate._ Kevin retreated into his thoughts as Walter continued to drone on. _It certainly is odd how Max and I keep ending up together, perhaps this reality is just a continuation of the previous one where we were together? Or is it something entirely new? Either way, time travel is confusing and my brain hurts. Kate…_

Kevin wrenched his attention away from his thoughts. It was getting a little too scary in there for his tastes. The mere thought of Kate sent his feelings reaching out to her. He could feel her. As if she were waiting in the next room, ready to wrap her arms around him and tell him that everything was going to be okay. But she wasn’t. She was somewhere else, far away, entirely absorbed with her life in this timeline. A life completely separate from his own.

The dark path of his thoughts did have one shining ray of light. If everything could be returned to the way it had been, Kate would remember nothing. She wasn’t cursed with powers like he was.

_Cursed? Is that what I am?_

Before the darkness within him could answer, Olivia caught his attention.

“Revan mentioned wanting to have a word with you, he’s a few doors down the hall. I can show you the way if you want?” Olivia seemed all too eager to get away from everything. Kevin didn’t mind though. He was too.

Before leaving, Kevin checked in with Max. No words were spoken. The pair exchanged quick glances as Kevin sent a wave of concern her way and she parried with her own thoughts.

_We’re fine, go._ Max knew that he could hear her thoughts, Kevin was certain of this now.

On their way into the hallway, Kevin and Olivia nearly bumped into Peter who was making his way into the laboratory. Carrying several steaming cups of coffee with care, Peter nodded to Kevin and turned to greet Olivia. The blonde agent returned his gaze and the pair entered into their own private moment of existence. Kevin was lucky enough to bare witness to the discrete moment, even though it lasted mere seconds.

A rare and natural smile graced Olivia’s lips as she greeted Peter. He returned her greetings with a quick and sly smile of his own, the affection between the two was unmistakable.

“You two are adorable.” Kevin stated happily, they really were. Olivia blushed, she actually blushed. Despite her shocking display of emotion, she soon recovered and the color bled form her face as she regained her composure. Peter’s smile widened considerably and he said his goodbyes as they parted ways.

Kevin and Olivia exited the laboratory and proceeded down the brightly lit hallway at a meandering pace. Even though it wasn’t the time, nor the place, Kevin couldn’t resist the urge to tease Olivia about her obvious romance with Peter. He just couldn’t help himself.

“So, you and Peter, eh?” Olivia nodded, almost bashfully, tides of heat returning to her face. “Good. It’s about damned time you two got together.” Olivia smiled but offered no further words as the pair made their way through the empty hallway. Unfortunately, each successive step was more difficult for Kevin. Each step took him closer to Revan, and the man’s crushing darkness.

Kevin focused, regulated his breathing, and strengthened his barriers against his master’s presence. This hadn’t been a necessity in the past, but it was now. As Kevin prepared himself for the meeting, he found himself reaching out to Rachel’s presence, taking comfort in the stark difference of her aura when compared to his master’s. The two forces were diametrically opposed. The light versus the darkness.

Olivia motioned towards a nondescript looking door and made a hasty retreat. He wasn’t the only one that didn’t want to be anywhere near Revan. As Agent Dunham retreated, Kevin exhaled and opened the door, plunging headfirst into he abyss. An entirely unexpected scene greeted him, giving him pause.

The room was a small examination room with a central table. The fringes of the room were stocked with examination equipment as you would expect to see in any run of the mill doctor’s office. The sole occupant in the room should have dominated the space with his presence. Revan, however, was accomplishing something that Kevin would have never thought possible: he seemed small.

Revan was sitting on the lone table in the center of the room, his appearance defying Kevin’s expectations. Gone were his thick-black robes and his impressive body armor, replaced with a set of mundane clothes similar to simple pajamas. A pair of gym-styled shorts and a form-fitting white t-shirt revealed a slimmer figure then expected. Revan’s physique was more befitting a war-refugee than a Sith warrior.

The man’s skin was unnaturally pale, while his figure was emaciated. His body still possessed muscle, but far less than one would expect to find on a man hardened by war. Revan’s face was gaunt and hairless, a ghastly contrast to Kevin’s own countenance. Kevin had been born a clone of the man that sat before him, he could still see some of the similarity despite the differences, but he really had to look hard.

_So, if I’m dying of cancer and suffering through chemotherapy… I’ll look like that. Awesome…_

“Funny…” Revan’s voice crept into the silence between them. It was soft, oddly soothing, a far-cry from the usual menace projected by his mask’s modulator. A thin smile graced Revan’s pale lips, the effect was only a little unsettling. Shrugging off the experience, Kevin focused his gaze on the nearby pile of Revan’s clothing and armor. The mighty war-gear had lost most of its usual glory, discarded and heaped in a mound on a nearby desk.

“You wanted to talk?” Kevin asked as he crossed his arms, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

“Yes,” Revan exhaled wearily, but a sense of tension soon fell upon the room as Revan’s gaze hardened on his clone. “Why did you bring _her_ here?”

Kevin swallowed, shifting his weight again without even meaning to. He wanted to pretend to be confused about the question, but there was no misreading the force behind his master’s words.

“Rachel… She’s force sensitive, I—” Kevin was freed of bumbling through his words as Revan fiercely cut him off.

“This fact has not escaped my notice. Only a fool would take my physical state for a lessening of my power. You are no fool, or am I mistaken?” Revan stood, slowly, and brought himself up to his full height. Even with his sickly state, the effect was menacing nonetheless. A shiver crept up Kevin’s spine. “Why did you bring her here?”

“Rachel _is_ force sensitive,” Kevin repeated. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence.”

“Of course it’s not a coincidence! But why is she here? Why did you bring her _here_?”

Kevin blinked in confusion. Why had he brought Rachel Amber along with them? It wasn’t as if it was necessary to fix the timeline. He knew why he had extracted the woman from her home along with Chloe, he just didn’t want to say it. He didn’t have to though, Revan knew. Revan just wanted to hear him admit it. A feral smile spread across the man’s face as he watched Kevin stumble over unspoken words.

“You brought her here to keep her close to you,” Revan’s words were more akin to an accusation than a statement. “Like a fool you are enchanted by her, mystified by the power within her, you seek it out like an insect seeking—”

“The light. There’s no darkness in her… just light.” The words were coaxed out of Kevin all too easily, but it was inevitable. Revan could have him spilling his most intimate secrets if he so desired.

“Ah. So, the truth of the matter finally reveals itself,” Revan’s smile widened in victory as he paced around the room, his hands clasped behind his back. “Mark my words, _apprentice_ , there is darkness within her, she just hides it far better than most. You find yourself in awe of the woman’s presence. Keeping her close is all that you can think about, isn’t it? She is so very different from anyone that you have ever encountered, isn’t she? Even your precious Kate pales in comparison to the holy relic before you. Your thoughts betray the guilt roiling inside of you! But worry not, apprentice, I am here to break the spell of foolishness that has been cast upon you. Rachel Amber _is_ Force sensitive, this much is true, but she is dangerous… we must keep her sedated, for your sake. Your stupidity will be your undoing, that much is certain.”

“But—”

“No! Like a moth to a flame you are drawn to her! The fires will burn you! Destroy you!” Revan took a calming breath, ceasing his pacing as he turned to face Kevin. When he continued speaking his voice was steadier, calmer, almost sad. “I say this not out of jealousy or fear for myself, but for you. You know that I detest the darkness within me, just as you do. You know that I do what I can to shield you from it… but you won’t find what you seek in that woman. The light shines brightly within her, this much is true. However, she is not the answer that you seek. You cannot see it because you are blinded by her radiance, but there is a darkness lurking within her. You want to bathe in her aura, nurture the light inside of her, I do not blame you. But you cannot see the danger that lurks within her, she must be trained by a master of the Force—”

“You?!” Kevin’s mouth hung open in shock, but he quickly closed it as Revan’s face soured as if he had just eaten something horrid.

“No. She must be sent to Skywalker. Only under his tutelage can she be properly trained.”

“Skywalker? You two hate each other! Why—”

“The old fool does not hate me, he is incapable of such an emotion. But we do have our differences, that much is certain. I stay out of his way, and he permits my existence. He would never admit it, but he is grateful of my efforts to purge the galaxy of others like me. Pretenders to the Sith legacy.”

“Wait—”

“Yes. We must keep Rachel alive. Your friend Chloe is going to have many trials ahead of her. The timeline must be restored, it _must_ be. However, Rachel Amber needs to continue to exist. We need her to be trained. We need her to fight for the Earth.”

               

 

 

 


	5. Price

Chloe’s journey back to the conscious realm was arduous and grueling. Feeling as if she were suffering from the world’s worse hangover, she struggled against crushing sensations of vertigo as her eyes fluttered open. Blinding light assaulted her unprepared retinas. Shielding her eyes from the onslaught, Chloe gradually made sense of her surroundings.

She found herself laying on a hard and entirely uncomfortable examination table in the center of a small room, definitely some sort of high-tech facility. It was unlike any hospital she had ever seen. The room gave off a creepy vibe that made her skin crawl. Unsettled, Chloe forced herself to a sitting position, despite the overwhelming desire to remain exactly where she was. Once she was upright and steady, she plunged her face into her awaiting hands.

The room spun rapidly, adamantly resisting her desires to inspect it further. Chloe found herself torn between the urge to retch and a longing for the safety and continuity of the floor. She chose both and was soon entirely pleased with her decision.

Chloe was relieved to discover that the floor was far more comfortable than her previous resting place, even if it was now covered with her own vomit. Resting her pounding head on the refreshingly cool, admittedly sticky, floor, Chloe’s world soon exploded in fury. Someone, or perhaps something was shrieking. Someone else was crying out in alarm, and she soon found herself being torn away from her comfortable resting place.

The world around her became an unfocused blur, but Chloe ceased caring about her lack of focus when something far more comfortable than the floor welcomed her.

Drugs.

Crying out in alarm at first, Chloe soon relaxed and gave herself over to the sensation. It would have been nice if the asshole that had injected her had warned her first, but she found herself more and more willing to let the infraction slide by the second.

The drugs fought off the nausea and the world painlessly came back into focus. Closing her eyes, she sighed in relief as her face was cleansed. Chloe soon found herself frowning, and all at once she was consumed with a lingering fear. Refusing to open her eyes, she focused on the delicate hands that were cleaning her face with tender care. The gentle and affectionate caresses glided across her skin, bringing peace and warmth with each stroke.

Only one person in the entire world could touch her like that.

Chloe opened her eyes, her breath caught in her throat.

“Max.” She managed feebly, an easy smile spreading across her face.

“Chloe.” Max responded, her face angelically enshrined in a halo of light. Chloe fought back tears as she looked up at her love. Just seeing Max’s smiling freckled face casting its beauty down upon her made her feel as if everything was going to be alright again. Max was back at her side once more; the nightmare would soon be over. The nightmare that Chloe, in her moment of stupidity, had created.

“I’m sorry Max, I’m—” Chloe’s feeble words were cut short as Max shushed her.

“It’s okay Chloe, I’m here now.” And just like that, Chloe’s worries vaporized. The world was perfect, even though Chloe was entirely sure that she had ruined everything.

“Ah, good, you’re awake.” An unmistakable voice growled from the far reaches of the room. Chloe groaned, she could feel Doctor Walter Bishop’s hostility as if it were emanating from his very soul like a force of nature. “Soon those drugs will have you up and about and we will be able to fix the mess that you’ve made for everyone.”

“It’s nice to see you too, Walter.” Chloe shot back, returning his fierce glare. The aged man’s hair was a disheveled mess and the hard look he wore further accented the many lines of his weathered face.

“Under normal circumstances, it would be a pleasant surprise to have a visit from you lot… but these aren’t _normal circumstances_ , not at all. What you did, whatever it was, upset more than you could possibly imagine!” Walter’s voice grew harder with each word, his gaze became so intense that Chloe was forced to look away.

“I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to… It’s just—” Chloe found herself interrupted once again.

“It’s just what, lieutenant?” A new voice, all too familiar, cut in.

Wincing as if she’d just been struck, Chloe turned to face Kevin, who had just walked into the room. His black boots struck the ground noisily as he strode in, he looked like hell. His usually well groomed dark-brown hair was quite literally everywhere, his eyes were sunken with fatigue, and his clothing looked as if had been yanked out of a dryer mid-cycle.

Chloe blinked in confusion as she took in his appearance, she never would have thought to see him wearing an Imperial officer’s uniform ever again, especially not half of one. He was missing the jacket and the stupid cap, but his bland olive pants gave him away. A white, form-fitting shirt showed off his toned physique. Chloe found herself entirely unable to break her stupefied gaze away from Kevin, but her eyes weren’t locked onto his muscles. Protected within Kevin’s toned arms, sat a baby.

_Holy shit, Kevin and Kate had a baby? How the hell did that happen? Kevin hates kids, doesn’t he?_ Chloe’s train of thought ground to a sudden halt when Max turned from her and rushed to Kevin’s side.

“What happened?” Max’s nervousness only intensified as Kevin thrust the child into her arms, he seemed all too relieved to be free of his burden. “What’s wrong little William?”

_Oh fuck… William? Please no…_

“ _Little_ William decided to paint me with vomit, just hosed me down, damn near from head to toe!” Kevin growled as Max comforted the distressed infant.

_Max is being way too protective with that child… fuck…_

“Calm down, you’re scaring him! He didn’t mean to, did you William?” The child gurgled unintelligibly in response to Max’s question, her soothing tone instantly calming him. “You didn’t mean to throw up on daddy, did you little one? Don’t worry, Mommy’s here—”

Max froze, it was almost as if she had felt Chloe’s face go pale. Kevin let out a frustrated sigh as Chloe’s eyes darted from him to Max.

_Please no…_

Chloe watched in horror as Max slowly turned to face her, but her love kept her eyes locked onto the floor as she clung to the child as if it would protect her from the awkwardness of the moment. Kevin’s face lost some of its fury as he too became infected with discomfort. It was a long time before anyone spoke.

After what felt like an eternity, Max’s tiny voice crept out of her as a ghostly whisper, barely audible above the deafening silence.

“Chloe, this is William… he’s my son… and Kevin’s the father.”

Kevin’s hostility made much more sense now.

“Kate?” Chloe hadn’t wanted to say anything, but she blurted out the name before her brain could stop her. Kevin shook his head; a heartbreakingly morose look crossed his face as he did so.

_Fuck…_

“Chloe, what did you do?” Kevin finally asked, bracing himself for her answer.

 

* * *

 

“So, let me get this straight… all you did was kill Mark Jefferson? That’s it?” Olivia asked, for what felt like the third time.

“Yeah, that’s all I did! I didn’t think everything would get all fucked up after that.” Chloe responded impatiently.

“How did you kill him? Obviously, you didn’t get caught or arrested for it—” Peter asked, joining the conversation for the first time.

“I snuck into his house and shot him in the face. He had pretty much just moved to Arcadia Bay so he didn’t have his fancy security system set up. With him gone—”

“Rachel and Kate never get abducted, none of the girls do.” Kevin added soberly, his face blank of emotion. Despite this, Chloe knew him well enough to know that he was quite content with this fact.

“Exactly.” Chloe responded, smiling with grim satisfaction.

“So, all we have to do to fix everything is have you not kill Mark Jefferson?” Peter offered cautiously, knowing full well what he was asking.

“Not gonna happen, fuck that.” Chloe left no room for argument with her response. An argument arose all the same.

“Chloe—” Olivia began, but was interrupted by the sudden arrival of a hooded figure.

“Rachel Amber must live.” Revan’s modulated voice startled everyone, but it astonished Chloe further that the fully armored and masked Sith was siding with her. Chloe glanced nervously at her unexpected ally, _why would he care about Rachel?_ Kevin answered her unspoken question before she could form any words of her own.

“Rachel is Force-sensitive. Properly trained… she could be quite powerful.”

“Wait, what?” Again, the room became infected with shock. “Rachel’s a… space-wizard?”

“Hold on a sec, the event that threw our timeline off the rails was the killing of Mark Jefferson and Rachel not dying, right? In order to fix everything, those events need to be undone.” Peter ignored Chloe’s fierce glare as he spoke, his voice neutered of emotion.

“Not necessarily, my son. Perhaps we are looking at this the wrong way,” Peter eyed his father suspiciously as Doctor Bishop began to excitedly pace the room, his wrinkled face scrunched in thought. “I have a new theory. We need to look beyond Rachel Amber and the late Mark Jefferson. We need to focus on Chloe! Her actions are what caused the disruption of our timeline after all!”

“Yeah… she killed Jefferson, that’s what changed everything, right?” asked Peter, though his words possessed less conviction than they had earlier. Chloe felt a spark of hope flutter to life inside of her chest.

“Perhaps not? What else did our reckless companion do differently? What was the main event that set so many lives in different directions?” Walter’s eyes were wide with excitement, each question burst from his lips in quick succession, making it impossible for anyone to offer an answer. When he finally paused, Max spoke up, her voice soft but resolute.

“Chloe left Arcadia Bay.”

“Precisely!” cheered Walter.    

“Walter… you’re saying that all we have to do is have Chloe go back in time and not leave Arcadia Bay with Rachel, and that will fix everything? What about Rachel and Jefferson?” Olivia’s voice was filled with skepticism and doubt. Each word pissed Chloe off. Every single one of them.

“The world won’t miss one less sociopathic barbarian,” Walter stated flatly. “And besides, if Rachel Amber is as important as our two Force-sensitive friends say she is, then her continued existence can only be to our benefit.”

“If Chloe never leaves Arcadia Bay and Rachel does… Max and Chloe will probably reunite and Kate and I might get back together... Direct intervention may be necessary, but I can get on board with this plan.” Kevin’s content smile turned grim as his eyes flashed towards the son that he currently shared with Max. Max’s own depressing stare bore into the ground at her feet, just seeing how deeply troubled her partner was broke Chloe’s heart in two.

Max and Kevin, once everything was fixed, would be losing their child. A child that should have never existed, never been brought into the world, and yet, it sat on its mother’s lap, casting its own mournful gaze right back at her.

_The damned thing knows its all my fault too, ugh those green eyes… its like a baby Kevin is glaring at me._ Chloe shuddered and looked away, desperately trying to think of something less depressing. She failed.

_Rachel…_ she had to go back in time and say goodbye to Rachel. She had to convince Rachel to leave Arcadia without her, probably breaking her heart in the process.

_Wonderful._

Suddenly, a new voice invaded her dreary mind. A cold voice. Revan’s voice.

_You have only yourself to blame, this is the price you must pay for your foolishness. Only you can pay it._

Unnerved, Chloe glared back at the masked Sith.

_Get the fuck out of my head!_

Low, slightly menacing, mocking laughter filled the insides of her mind, causing Chloe to shiver fiercely. The masked man stood firm and unmoving, like a creepy statue, while his amusement echoed throughout the cavities of her subconscious. Chloe cast one last look at the robed figure and pushed herself off of the examination table.

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s pump me full of drugs and dunk me in a tank full of salt-water! It’s time for me to unfuck the fucked-up shit that I fucked up.” Chloe’s enthusiasm instantly infected Walter, a child-like smile shot across his face as he responded.

“That’s the spirit!” As Walter scrambled to gather the necessary equipment for Chloe’s impending journey into the past, Max sighed loudly and turned to glare at her partner.

“Chloe, language…” Max nodded towards the child in her lap and Chloe rolled her eyes. It wasn’t like the kid would exist for much longer to learn the language anyway. Chloe made sure to keep her thoughts to herself though, it was far too perilously obvious that Max had become very attached to her child. That was definitely something that would have to be addressed, but later, much later.

 

* * *

 

Everything was ready to commence the experiment. Chloe was ready to be sent back into the past to repair the timeline. However, one key element of the equation was missing. Photographs.

Hans, Canderous, and Gerrard were sent back to the Amberprice residence to gather anything and everything that they could find. Chloe needed an aid to bring her back to the right moment. So much was riding on this hurried scavenger hunt that Peter, Olivia, and Revan joined in as well.

With so many bodies on the case, the series of laboratories and offices that had been sequestered for the operation seemed hauntingly empty. To exacerbate the situation, Doctor Walter Bishop had hidden himself away somewhere, leaving Kevin, Max, and Chloe to their own devices.

Max spent her time worrying over Chloe and William while Chloe did her best to distance herself from the child and hovered nervously around the comatose Rachel Amber. To Chloe’s relief, it had been agreed that Rachel had to be integrated into the existing timeline. However, Chloe’s nervousness and mounting discomfort proved to Kevin that all was still not well.

Everything was far too obvious to Kevin. Chloe was going to have great difficulty convincing Rachel to let her go. Even worse, Max, once she was deprived of Williams’ company, would sink into misery.

“You just had to go and give it a name…” grumbled Kevin, entirely to himself as he paced the empty hallways of their floor. He had seen a single technician during his wanderings, the man hadn’t spared him a second of his time as he hurried off in the opposite direction.

Kevin had changed back into his clothes, glad to be rid of the Imperial officer’s uniform. His khaki pants and his long-sleeved button-up plaid shirt were much lighter than his previous garments. This suited him just fine, despite how cool the facility was. He liked it cool, it reminded him of being back on a starship, where he belonged.

A gravely unnerving, gut-twisting feeling kept intruding upon his thoughts. Kevin felt, and was entirely certain of, a single inescapable fact that only grew fiercer as his wanderings continued. As his heavy footsteps echoed down the sterile halls, Kevin sighed and thrust his hands into his pockets in frustration.

He was needed somewhere else at the moment. He just knew it.

 

* * *

 

Admiral Natasi Daala glared at her own barely visible reflection on the transparisteel window directly before her. The bridge of the _Night Hammer_ was abuzz with commotion and excitement. However, she emanated calm while chaos whirled around her. The emotions that she was projecting to her crew were entirely fabricated, they could not know the true terror that gripped her heart. This was especially important because the entirety of her fleet stood on the precipice of battle.

Shifting her gaze from herself to the mysterious object that hung in space before her assembly of warships, she fought back the fear inside of her.

Revan was gone. Vanished without a trace, without warning, leaving her in command of the Earth’s protection. His timing couldn’t have been worse. After a few years of silence, the galaxy was once again testing the resolve of the Earth and her forces. This time, instead of an invading army, demonic ships of untold power were striking from the depths of space.

After the first encounter with this new enemy, a massive energy source was detected at the fringes of the Earth’s territory. The entire fleet was now assembled, studying the strange object from afar. Energy readings were frighteningly massive, the amount of power emanating from the object made the doomsday weapons of the Empire seem like toys. Thankfully, the eggheads and code-monkeys aboard the fleet didn’t think that this strange, yet massive, object was a weapon. Natasi had her doubts and positioned the majority of the fleet far away, ready to make an emergency jump to lightspeed at a moment’s notice.

She was about to order just such a maneuver. Energy readings from the object were increasing. Rapidly. The object consisted of two fifteen-kilometer long curved metal arms that encircled a set of revolving, gyroscopic rings exactly five-kilometers across. Encased in the rings was a massive, bright blue glowing core of an unknown element. According to the experts, the material of the structure was unlike anything that they had seen before. It was predicted that, even if Natasi ordered the entire fleet to fire upon the object, there would be little damage. Curiously, despite the massive energy readings, the object emitted no heat or radiation.

The only reason the object _had_ been detected was because an overly diligent sensors officer had been scanning the area for cloaked ships. Luckily for Natasi’s sensors officer, it had been him. She would have been furious if someone else had made the discovery. Specifically, someone else’s sensors officer.

As the power readings from the object continued to climb, Natasi’s stomach tightened as her gaze hardened on the mysterious object. The fear that was growing inside of her wasn’t tied to the confounding object at all. The dark thoughts plaguing her were entirely focused on Revan.

Where had he gone? Why had he suddenly disappeared? Why had he not told her anything? What was she supposed to do without him? The men and women at her command looked at her to lead them, but she had spent years looking to Revan.

And now, he was gone.

Several flashes of light in close proximity of the object wrenched her mind away from the thoughts that tormented her. Before she could call out any commands, reports were quickly called out.

“Three dreadnaught sized contacts detected in close proximity to the object!”

“Confirmed, all three match the profile of ‘the hostile’!”

That’s what they called the demonic ship that had only been narrowly defeated by the late Captain Noin’s task force. The appearance of three more ships like it should have sent a tremor of fear down Natasi’s spine. She should have been unnerved by the sudden sensation of discomfort that she suddenly felt.

She wasn’t though. _She_ was Admiral Natasi Daala, and her enemy was finally in sight. A feral smile spread across her lips, all her earlier concerns were entirely forgotten.

“Move the fleet into attack position! Launch the fighters and hit those damned beasts with everything that we’ve got!” Her voice carried itself easily across the bridge. Soon, her orders were sent to every ship in the fleet. Groups of Star Destroyers splintered off into four-ship squadrons while the lesser ships moved to the rear of the massive formation.

Entirely unconcerned with the massive numbers arrayed against them, the enemy ships propelled themselves towards the fleet at mind-crushing velocities. Natasi’s smile widened, thousands of turbolasers were being brought to bear on the approaching enemy. They didn’t stand a chance.

Several more pinpricks of light flashed near the object, Natasi’s smile vanished.

 

* * *

 

Kevin slept, fitfully, but he slept all the same. Max let him sleep. Chloe didn’t seem all that interested in disturbing him either. Max knew Chloe better than anyone else, period. So, it was blatantly obvious to her that Chloe was all too happy that Kevin had fallen asleep; Chloe was avoiding him after all.

Max didn’t really have to guess as to why, either. Kevin missed Kate, simply existing in a world where she was not his pained him. Chloe saw it too, and it was her fault.

Chloe kept her distance from Max as well. Max freely gave her partner the space that she needed. It was a troubling and lonely experience, but Max had little William to keep her company during her exile, even if he was sleeping like his father. Unlike his father, however, he was sleeping peacefully.

As the child slept, Max’s thoughts tormented her. She had only spent a short time with William, a blink of an eye when compared to her entire life. However, no matter how hard she tried to rationalize that he never should have existed, a glaring fault in her reasoning slammed home. He did exist. She wanted him to keep existing. But he wouldn’t.

Even though the child would cease to exist sometime in the near future, Max did her best to shield it from her racing thoughts. She wanted its last moments to be peaceful, happy, free of fear. Unfortunately, once she had torn her mind away from the child, it went straight to Chloe. Max knew it was mostly guilt that was keeping her lover away from her right now, that and fear of the child bearing her late father’s name. Despite this, a small part of her, the vulnerable part, the fearful part, focused on who Chloe was spending time with instead of her.

Rachel Amber.

The ghost of Chloe’s past was now a physical entity, seemingly just as magnetic as she had always been. Even Kevin was drawn to her, it was painfully obvious. Max found herself on the verge of screaming at him, desiring nothing else but to remind him of Kate. She had held her tongue though when it had been Revan of all people who demanded that Rachel be spared.

Revan saw Rachel as a tool, a weapon, something he could wield against his enemies, specifically the Earth’s enemies, Max hoped. This was all fine with Max, but that small part of her, the anxious part, worried how different her relationship with Chloe would be if Rachel were still alive. Would it be better if Chloe had never been robbed of her first love, or worse? Even though it was only a small part of her that was worried, the question haunted her.

“You look pretty good for having spat out a baby.” Chloe’s characteristically playful words banished the dark thoughts from her mind as she approached. Her smile was warm and inviting, even though her eyes held a hint of uncertainty. This only increased when they flicked towards the sleeping child. Max felt her face flush with heat even though a knot was slowly forming in her stomach.

“You should have seen me cosplaying as an Imperial officer, it had all the boys staring.” Max playfully shot back, all too pleased with the effect of her words.

“I missed that?” Chloe groaned, “I bet you killed the look. Though, you couldn’t possibly look as good as I do in _my_ uniform.” Max found herself instantly biting her lower lip and tried desperately to hide this fact.

_Ugh, she knows how much I love that uniform… even though I hate all the things that come along with it. I wish she’d just take it off… crap!_

Chloe picked up on Max’s internal conflict almost instantly and her customary shit-eating-grin blossomed onto her face. Max loved that smile. Unfortunately, the smile didn’t make the brewing storm within her any easier to handle. In fact, it made things worse, much worse.

_Where the hell is Kevin? It’s probably his turn with William anyway—_ Max banished the thought as quickly as she could, shivering slightly. She didn’t want to be anywhere near Kevin at the moment. A black cloud hung over him like a second shadow. It was a little scary, it was best to let him sleep.

“Max, you okay?” Chloe’s words wrenched Max away from her thoughts and back to reality. William was still sleeping peacefully in her arms and Chloe was drawing closer to her, her tentative steps mirroring the look of worry on her face.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking about… stuff.” Max winced, her response was hardly convincing. Chloe glared at her for a brief moment and seemed on the verge of a sharp retort. However, Chloe’s face softened and it took several moments before she spoke.

“Don’t worry Max, I’ll fix this.” Chloe’s words conjured up as much sadness as they did relief. Max couldn’t help snatching a fearful glance down at William. To her surprise, he was awake, his large green eyes staring into hers, reaching into her soul.

Chloe was beside her before Max realized that she was crying. Max welcomed the comforting embrace and leaned into it, holding William tighter as she let the tears flow. William, to his credit, blubbered only a small amount. The child wore a brave face and remained mostly quiet as his mother emptied her grief into Chloe’s shoulder.

William tried to reach out to his mother, but his arms were too short. Frustrated, and feeling desperate, he reached out again, but with his feelings.

His mother did not respond. She was lost to her sorrow.

Confused and scared, William found his father in a nearby room and used the voice inside of his head to call out to him. His desperate cries received no response, so he tried again, louder this time.

William giggled. Something had fallen off a nearby table and bounced across the floor. Even better, his father was on the way, he could feel it.

 

* * *

 

Kevin burst into the room, unlit lightsaber in hand, and froze as an entirely unexpected scene greeted him.

Chloe glared at Kevin for his unexpected intrusion while Max, red faced and sniffling, was doing her best to appear as if she hadn’t just finished crying her eyes out. However, it wasn’t the look of his friends that gave him pause, it was William.

The child was smiling, giggling away in sheer delight.

_What the…_

Kevin’s thoughts trailed off as the state of the small office caught his attention.

The place was a disaster. It looked as if a small storm had wrought a wave of devastation just moments ago. William shrieked with delight as a cloud of papers finished their uncontrolled flight to the floor, joining a myriad of other objects that certainly didn’t belong down there.

“Kevin? Is everything okay?” Max asked worriedly. She was still making a heroic attempt to sound casual about everything, foolishly clinging to the hope that Kevin wasn’t able to detect how upset she had been just moments ago.

_Okay, fine… let’s not talk about it. Whatever… suits me just fine._

Kevin gestured towards the mess on the floor as he returned his lightsaber to his belt, sliding it into its holster in a single, fluid, well-practiced motion. Max’s eyes went wide as she took in the scene for the first time while Chloe winced as she too made the discovery.

All eyes soon turned to William, he was all too happy to receive the attention.

William gurgled happily as his father slowly approached. It was good to have everyone back together again. His mother had stopped crying too, though he could still feel her crying on the inside. It was okay though, daddy would fix that now that he was here.

 

* * *

 

Nearly half a day’s time was spent travelling to the Amberprice household, tearing it apart in a frantic search for photographs, and then traveling back to Boston. Olivia winced as the transport craft buckled as it set down on the roof of Massive Dynamic. It certainly would have made things easier if they had brought Chloe along with them in the search, it was her fault that the timeline was once again off kilter anyway.

Shaking her head, Olivia stood. Chloe’s true trial was still ahead of her. Hopefully Chloe had used the time that had been given to her preparing for her journey back in time. Olivia knew for a fact that Chloe was up to the task, the girl had undertaken a greater challenge in the past. Diving headfirst into Max’s damaged and decaying mind couldn’t have been easy, but Chloe had done it without so much as a second thought. The love that bound Chloe and Max together was strong, perhaps stronger than the love that Olivia felt for Peter.

Peter.

Olivia smiled as he too got to his feet. Peter returned her smile with one of his own. It was at that moment, as the two lovers stared into each other’s eyes, that Olivia finally understood Chloe and Max. Olivia would tear the world apart if it meant keeping Peter safe. She wouldn’t even bother putting it back together again if she didn’t have to either.

Olivia had to make way as Peter, Hans, Gerrard, and Canderous trudged by her. Each man carried a burden. All four of them held a carton of photographs, just in case Olivia hadn’t grabbed the right one already.  She had though, she could feel it. Olivia’s detective skills and intuition hadn’t really been necessary either. The picture had been on the fridge, easy enough to find.

The picture, it had to be the one, was clearly taken at the junkyard on the outskirts of Arcadia Bay, Oregon. Olivia would never forget that place. She had dug up Rachel Amber’s corpse there, twice. Despite this fact, the picture showed Rachel Amber alive, radiant, and smiling. She looked so full of hope and promise, the entire world seemed at her fingertips. Next to her was Chloe, an entirely different Chloe. The girl in the photograph looked more or less like the Chloe that she knew, but an expression of pure joy was plastered on the girl’s face.

Olivia couldn’t help herself, she just had to look at the picture one more time.

“Infectious, isn’t she?” Revan’s voice startled her as she withdrew the picture, nearly causing her to drop her precious cargo. Turning to face the armored and masked Sith Lord, Olivia returned the photograph to the safety of her coat pocket.

“Excuse me?” Olivia asked hastily. There were two girls in the photograph after all, he could have been speaking about either one. Though, after only a moment of contemplation, Olivia was certain that Revan had been speaking of Rachel, not Chloe. A deep sigh became a preamble to Revan’s next words.

“Rachel. She infects everyone she comes into contact with. Her classmates, teachers, Chloe, my foolish apprentice—” Revan shook his head as another sigh escaped through his modulator. “She is… dangerous, her abilities _must_ be carefully nurtured. The potential for her power to be misused is far too great.”

Olivia nodded, she knew exactly what Revan meant. A case from her past came bubbling to the surface of her memories where a man had been able to project his emotions onto others. Only somewhat aware and in control of his abilities, chaos had ensued. According to Revan, Rachel’s powers were just as capable of causing harm as they were bringing joy. Was that why Chloe had taken such a downward spiral after Rachel’s death? Robbed of Rachel’s light, only darkness had remained.

“Your thoughts mirror my own, Agent Dunham.” Revan’s voice startled her once again, this time coming from within her own mind. Crossing her arms defiantly across her chest, Olivia refused to be off put by the invasion of her thoughts.

“If she is such a danger, why risk keeping her alive?”

“The answer you seek, will be revealed in time, Agent Dunham.” The conversation apparently over, Revan stepped around her and exited the transport craft as the repulsor engines finished winding down, their feint whine easing into nothingness.

Turning to watch the black-armored warrior go, Olivia retreated to her own thoughts once more. _For Chloe’s sake, and for everyone else’s, I hope that you know what you’re doing, Revan._

 

* * *

 

Everything was ready. Finally.

Olivia had found a picture. Well, she had returned with hundreds of photographs but she had one in particular that she felt certain would be ‘the one’. Everyone else seemed to agree with Agent Dunham’s analysis, Kevin hoped that they were all right. He wanted this nightmare to end.

The sensory deprivation tank was filled. Chloe stripped down, after all the nonessential personnel were forcibly removed from the room. Nonessential personnel meaning Canderous, who damn near yowled at being denied seeing Chloe strip down to her undergarments a second time.

A shot of Cortexiphan, and God knows what else was injected into the blue-haired demon that had ruined Kevin’s world. She climbed into the tank after spying a brief glance at Max. Kevin followed her gaze.

Max stood in the corner of the room, clutching William to her chest, her freckled face full of hope and dread. Soon everything should be back to normal. Soon Max and Kevin would no longer have a son. Max wore her fears far worse than Kevin did, but his fears were still there.

He was going to miss William.

Max turned towards him, casting her mournful gaze upon him as the heavy metal door slammed shut behind Chloe. Max’s thoughts invaded his through the shared link that had manifested between them.

He was not going to miss that.

_We created something amazing, didn’t we?_

William was pretty amazing, Kevin had to admit.

_Yes, Max. Yes, we did._

There was no mistaking Max’s sudden reaction, Kevin’s response with his own thoughts had reached her. She was doing a damned poor job of holding back her tears. Before Kevin could move to comfort her, Revan’s voice froze him in place.

_Don’t fret, this won’t be the last you see of the child._

_The fuck?_

 

* * *

 

Chloe opened her eyes as a camera’s shutter clicked. Not the loud mechanical noise that she had grown used to from her time with Max, but a softer tone from a digital camera. Chloe smiled, proud that she could tell the difference. Her smile only widened as her nose caught a scent of jasmine in the air.

_Rachel_.

As Chloe had expected, she found herself in her old stomping grounds, the junkyard. The place where so many of her memories had been poisoned by the revelation that Rachel had been buried a mere foot below the hallowed ground.

_Rachel._

The blonde girl giggled as she withdrew the camera and nudged Chloe playfully with an elbow. The two girls drew closer together as Rachel leaned in to show Chloe the results of her snapshot.

“Chloe! You closed your eyes… again!” Rachel’s giggles died off as she turned to glare at Chloe with an expression of mock frustration. Chloe could still read Rachel like and open book, even after all these years. Wincing, Chloe’s thoughts chastised her immediately. _If you are so good at reading her, how’d you miss her banging Frank right under your nose?_

“Sorry—.” Rachel pounced before Chloe could get more than one word out.

“Seriously, what’s the deal with you and cameras anyway? They don’t bite! I do… but you like that… so maybe that’s why—” Chloe’s own thoughts brought Rachel’s playful words to a dull drone. _Rachel wouldn’t do that to me! Max is just jealous of us, of what we had… No, Max isn’t like that. If Max says that Rachel fooled around with Frank, then she did._

“Chloe? Are you even listening? What do I have to do to get your attention today, take off my shirt? You’re hella’ spaced.” Rachel’s tone was tingling with actual frustration now. Chloe swallowed hard as she recalled why she was standing here. _Remember, Rachel gets smashy when she’s angry…_

“Rachel, we need to talk—.” Chloe found herself interrupted again.

“Getting cold feet again, huh?” A sly smile crossed Rachel’s perfect lips, her eyes flashing brilliantly with mischief as she drew closer. “Does somebody need more convincing?”

Chloe’s brain froze, but only for a moment. Rachel was so close she could practically taste her. Chloe’s brain was doing its best to remind Chloe of exactly how good Rachel tasted, but her heart held her back. She had come back for a reason, and this was not it.

“Rachel, please. This is important.” Chloe’s sharp words brought Rachel to a standstill, her eyes momentarily wide with surprise. The blonde girl remained perilously close, the smell of jasmine and the girl’s sweet sweat nearly bringing Chloe to her knees.

Exhaling to compose herself, Chloe found that she was unable to form words. It felt as if a dagger were performing a balancing act on her heart, ever ready to plunge in deep. Chloe felt a part of herself begging her not to go through with it, all she had to do was let it happen. Everything would be fine if she just went with the flow.

That part of her was wrong though, everything wouldn’t be fine. Chloe’s place was with Max, not Rachel. In another life, maybe, but that life was not hers to live. All too aware of the heartbreak that she was about to force onto herself, Chloe steeled her fraying nerves as best she could. Mentally wincing, Chloe reminded herself that, if Rachel really loved her, two hearts would be breaking soon. This realization just made everything harder. Feeling as if she were wading through drying concrete, Chloe forced herself to start speaking.

“Rachel… I can’t go with you.” Chloe’s words hit Rachel like a slap to the face would have, causing her to recoil with a look of utter confusion on her face.

“What—”

“I have to stay here, I can’t leave.”

“What are you talking about? You hate it here!”

“I do…” Chloe admitted sourly. Rachel’s confusion turned to anger.

“Then why are you saying this? Now? We’ve been preparing for this day for weeks, months!”

“I know. I’m sorry… I guess it’s just taken me a while to figure everything out. I have to stay, it’s hard to explain—”

“It’s Max, isn’t it?” Rachel asked firmly, crossing her arms across her chest. Her words had come out more like an accusation than a question.

“Yeah, its Max.” Chloe responded honestly. She couldn’t lie to Rachel, even if she wanted to.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Rachel roared, her hands balling into fists. “Max? Max fucking Caulfield? The girl that hasn’t spoken to you in how long? The girl that doesn’t give a shit about you? You’re going to stay here, in this ‘shithole’, to wait for her? Instead of leaving with _me_?”

Rachel’s voice cracked during her last question. The knife above Chloe’s heart thrust in.

“Yeah… that Max. The one that made me hate cameras… or whatever.” Chloe couldn’t stop fiddling with her hands so she thrust them deep into her pockets. She wasn’t at all surprised to discover a lighter in one pocket and a pack of cigarettes in the other. The sudden urge to light a cigarette struck her so hard that she froze, though she dared not in the face of Rachel’s mounting fury.

“It’s sad… no, it’s pathetic that you actually think that she will come back for you.” Rachel’s words drove the knife deeper. Despite the pain, despite the hurt, Chloe held fast.

“She’ll come back.” Chloe’s firm words hit Rachel square in the chest, throwing her off balance once again. Blinking away tears, Rachel’s voice cracked again as she spoke.

“This is your only chance Chloe. I may not leave today, but when I do, I’m fucking gone. And when I’m gone, there’s no second chances. Understand? This is your one and only chance. It’s either Max, or me.”

“I won’t make that choice Rachel, but I have to stay, I just have to!” Chloe’s voice wavered as the knife twisted and spun inside of her.

“Why?” Rachel demanded, her makeup was starting to run.

Chloe paused, there were so many reasons why she had to stay. But which one would hurt Rachel the least? Which one would actually make sense? The intensity in Rachel’s composure softened as Chloe struggled for words.

_Fuck, what do I say? I can’t pull some John Conner shit and tell her that I’m from the future, even though it’s the fucking truth! I can’t tell her that Kevin would murder me if I fucked this up even more… that wouldn’t make any fucking sense! Telling her that I love Max more than her would be fucking brutal… this time traveling shit is… fucking bullshit! Max and I are together and we’re fucking happy, well… Max is going to be super fucking depressed when she loses her kid—_

_Fuck!_

“Because… I chose Max.” Chloe finally said, sending a fresh wave of confusion across Rachel’s face.

“Chose?” She repeated, exasperated. “When? Two fucking seconds ago?”

“No! A long-ass time ago. It took me forever to realize it and I’m sorry! I’m sorry okay? I know that this is a really fucking shit thing to do, especially right now… I mean, it’s probably literally the worst possible time to do this—”

“You think?” Rachel shot back, sniffling back her tears. The knife twisted again.

“Rachel… I’m sorry. I’m really, _really_ sorry. But I have to stay. I just have to.” Despite the honesty behind Chloe’s words, Rachel countered back.

“You don’t have to do anything Chloe, you are making a choice right here, right now.”

“I choose to stay.” Chloe surprised herself with how flat her voice had finally become, even though, as she watched Rachel’s reaction, the knife tore straight through her heart, damn near splitting it in two.

Rachel stared at her for several long, painful moments. Tears freely falling from her eyes, oily makeup oozing down her face, she still looked beautiful. A desperate battle was being waged within the blonde girl, a battle between anger and grief.

Anger won.

Rachel’s fist slammed into the window of Chloe’s nearby truck with terrifying speed. Chloe’s eyes went wide with shock and she struggled to bring her hands out of her pockets as Rachel recoiled in pain.

“Fuck!” Rachel’s scream sent dozens of nearby birds into a panicked flight. Instinctively, Chloe moved towards Rachel as the girl struggled to remain standing. Entirely sure that she had heard a bone, or bones, break, Chloe winced as she approached.

“Rachel, shit, are you okay?” Either the pain, or the sincerity of Chloe’s words, finally brought Rachel to her knees. Rachel’s response came seconds later. Screaming like a banshee, Rachel sent the braver birds that had remained, scrambling away in sheer terror. Too afraid to move any closer, Chloe remained where she was, stooped over Rachel, barely at arm’s length. Gripping the wrist of her broken hand in a death-grip, Rachel sighed.

“No, I’m not okay Chloe, I just broke my hand.” Rachel’s nonchalant tone shocked Chloe back into motion. Rachel offered no resistance as Chloe closed in, helping Rachel to her feet.

“Shit dude, I’m surprised you didn’t break my window!” Rachel laughed lightly, despite everything.

“It was either that or your face… and I like your face the way it is.” The knife continued its torments on Chloe’s fractured heart.

“Thanks… your face isn’t that bad either… or whatever.” Rachel choked back a sob, gripping her wrist tighter, visibly struggling against the pain. “Seriously though, hospital?”

Rachel nodded, vigorously.

Memories of the past came back to Chloe as she and Rachel tore out of the junkyard in Chloe’s truck. There was nothing left of Chloe’s heart at this point, but still the knife refused to relent. As Chloe tore through the deserted backroads of Arcadia Bay, their routes still fresh in her memory, she forced herself to relax.

At least this time Rachel wasn’t bleeding to death from a knife wound. This was hella’ better than that, right? If it was, why did it hurt so damned much?

Not a word was spoken between the two girls during the frantic drive. Rachel was as silent as she had been in the past, even though she was entirely conscious this time.

Upon arriving at the hospital, Rachel immediately began fumbling with her door, grunting with pain. Chloe moved as fast as she could, but Rachel had her door open before she could make it around her truck to assist. The two stared awkwardly at one another for a moment before a tendril of pain had Rachel doubling over and gasping aloud.

“Rachel!” Chloe was at her side in an instant, helping her move towards the door to the hospital. A few steps later and Rachel disentangled herself from Chloe, gently pushing her away with her uninjured hand.

“This is where we say goodbye.” Rachel’s voice was flat, entirely devoid of pain and emotion. It was almost creepy.

“Are you sure, I mean, you’re hurt, shouldn’t I—”

“You should go Chloe. Thank you for getting me here, but you should really go.” Rachel’s voice cracked and wavered, but it rose in intensity. She was sure. Chloe could feel the remnants of her heart leaking out through her eyes.

“You’re right. Goodbye, Rachel. I’m sorry.” Chloe tried to keep her voice steady, the task was impossible with a damned knife bouncing around inside of her.

“Goodbye, Chloe.” Rachel’s words were uneven and shaky. Chloe hadn’t expected a happy ending, and yet, she was certain that she could have done a better job than this shitshow.

_Fuck it, what’s done is done, I can’t take this shit much longer anyway. Trying to redo this bullshit will literally kill me._

Chloe turned away to hide her tears, Rachel might see the devastation wrought upon her by the words in the reflection of the door after all. Chloe was nearing her truck when she suddenly felt lightheaded, nauseous, and weak. All at once the world spun around her, and it felt as if she were falling. Chloe almost wished that she wouldn’t wake up as everything, including her own thoughts, became an unfocused blur.

 

 

 

 


End file.
